Mojito
1.25 oz white rum
12 mint leaves
1 tablespoon sugar
0.5 oz lime juice
2 oz soda
Place mint leaves in bottom of glass. Add crushed ice, rum, sugar, and lime juice, and muddle (mash gently with a spoon or other utensil). Add soda water, stir briefly, and garnish with more mint leaves.
For a better version:
Start a few days in advance. Dice or crush the mint leaves, combine with the rum, and leave in a room-temperature, dark place for at least two days and up to a week. The rum will turn greenish or brownish during this time. Strain out mint leaves before using. Once infused the rum can be stored anywhere but I prefer the freezer. (The colder the ingredients, the less the ice will melt, and the less watery the final drink will be.) Also in advance make a simple syrup consisting of 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. Stir together, boil, and stir some more until dissolved. Allow to come down to room temperature and store in the refrigerator. The mint-infused rum will provide more mint flavor and also no one will have pieces of mint leaves stuck in their teeth. Simple syrup dissolves much easier in the drink than sugar. Sugar crystals wont dissolve easily in this drink and are guaranteed to leave a disgusting sweet slick at the bottom of the glass. This version also works better for parties because the hard work is done in advance and you can make endless quantities of infused rum during the seasons when fresh mint is cheap and use it all year long.
Combine the infused rum, 1 tablespoon of simple syrup, the lime, and the ice. Stir to combine. Add the soda and give one more quick stir. Garnish with mint leaves.
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