ClassicMintRefreshing5 minutes
Virgin Mojito (Nojito)
The classic Cuban highball without the rum — mint, lime, sugar and soda, and the technique that stops it tasting like lawn clippings.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Serves
- 1
- Glass
- Highball
- Difficulty
- Easy
Ingredients
- 10 fresh mint leaves, plus a sprig to garnish
- 0.75 oz fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
- 0.5 oz simple syrup
- 3 oz soda water
- Crushed ice
Method
- 1Clap the mint between your palms once. This releases the oils without shredding the leaf — muddling mint hard is what makes a mojito taste bitter and grassy.
- 2Drop the mint into a highball glass. Add the lime juice and simple syrup.
- 3Press the mint gently against the side of the glass two or three times with a spoon. Stop there.
- 4Fill the glass with crushed ice and top with soda water.
- 5Stir once from the bottom to lift the mint through the drink, then garnish with the sprig.
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Notes
- Slap the garnish sprig against your hand before adding it — you smell the drink before you taste it, and this is most of the aroma.
- No simple syrup? Dissolve 2 teaspoons of caster sugar in the lime juice before adding anything else.
- For a sharper version, cut the syrup to 0.25 oz and add a pinch of salt.
Common questions
What can I use instead of rum in a mojito?
Nothing is needed — a mojito's character comes from mint, lime and sugar rather than the rum. If you want the warmth back, add half an ounce of a non-alcoholic white spirit, or a splash of strong cold green tea for a little tannin.
Make one of these next
- Arnold Palmer
Half iced tea, half lemonade. Two ingredients, and the ratio most people get wrong.
- Cherry Limeade
The American drive-in classic — tart lime, real cherry, plenty of ice.
- Cucumber Mint Cooler
Clean, cold and barely sweet — the drink to make when everything else on offer is sugary.
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