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The Mojito 
The Cocktail of My Generation of bartenders is the Mojito originally from the City of Havana in Cuba. The Mojito is so far the Cocktail of the century, as the new century began I headed for London on my trip of a lifetime, having been working in one of Sydney Trendiest Bars I had never heard of a Mojito. It seemed to be all anybody in London wanted to drink, I was muddling so much my arms felt like they where going to drop of some night. How well you made a Mojito defined you as a bartender & your Bar in general in the Eyes of London's Bartenders. By the time I returned home to Sydney even your local pub bartender was making the Mojito. 
In those 3 years the world had changed, The Mojito had made drinking a cocktail trendy and Chic even in Sydney where everyone's drink was a Jim Bean n Coke or a VB. The great thing about the Mojito is its inconsistency, the fact I wrote inconsistency is going to make most bartender cringe. When using an ingredient like mint the strength and flavour can vary greatly from day to day, the fresh Lime can vary in Juiciness, in sweetness, bitterness, sourness. As a bartender who has been lucky to travel to many parts of the planet, the palate of different cultures is very variable, In England your Mojito has to be Sour and Not to sweet, In India its super sweet, not to sour, extra minty. In Australia its not to sour, on the sweetish side, In USA its sweet not sour. 
The Rum used has a huge impact on the Mojito, Personally I like traditional Cuba Rum, Matusalem Anjo, yes I know its normally always a light rum, what can I say I like what I like. Bacardi originally from Cuba now from Puerto Rico is probably the most commonly used Bacardi invest massive amounts of money to promote the Bacardi Mojito, Then you have Traditional Cuban Rums Havana Club Blanco, then the more upmarket Matusalem Blanco. However I now see bars using Mount Gay, Ron Castillo, Sailor Jerry's, I even saw a bartender mix it with Bundaberg Rum in a Country Pub recently, It also seems that every bartender has his own view on which Rum should be used, Some bartenders think Traditionally, some are loyal to there favourite liquor rep, others like what they like, Some just don't care about cocktails and think everyone should just drink Beer. Sugar adds more than just sweetness it also play a key part in the flavour of the Mojito, Caster sugar is the most commonly used, however lots of people like Brown sugar this is my choice but it destroys the eye appeal of the cocktail, sugar syrup, sugarcane, sugar cane juice, artificial sweetener, even molasses I have seen used each slightly changing the dynamics of the Mojito. Do I use fresh lime or lime juice, fresh muddled lime gives me the flavour of the skin, and over muddled it becomes bitter. 
The amount of Mint used is different in so many bars from 3 mint leaves, to a massive hand full, the flavour and quality of mint can change dramatically seasonally. How the mint is stored. We have the question of Muddle verse rip n slap. Mint and Lime are also important visually in a Mojito. Also every bar has Mojito variations, sum very similar to a Mojito, others going off on wild tangents, so who makes the best Mojito in the world. 
The Big question today is what is a Mojito, most will say, Rum, Mint, Lime, Sugar and soda or is this drink somehow bigger.  |
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