Dark Rum Mojito

So one random day, I wanted to make a cocktail but didn’t really want to go extra. I just wanted to use ingredients which were already available at home. There was always whisky, lemon, I have a mint plant and after a quick Google consultation, the verdict was a mojito cocktail. Fast forward to today, I thought I’d get a little bit of mojito education so I have more to say in this post other than just the ingredients and my motivation in making this. Lol. Interestingly, I learned that a white and a dark rum is a thing and that white rum is what’s normally used to make mojitos due its light flavour (as a result of being filtered multiple times). What did I know? Further down the rabbit hole, I learned about Gold Rum (which is like dark rum, but aged in a certain period of time basically until it reaches a “golden” color, or else it’ll turn dark and therefore be classified as a dark rum), and of course, Spiced Rum (you got it, rum with spices/caramel, etc. and is typically aged like dark rum. I also just discovered that this is actually what I enjoy smelling during the holidays. Not whiskey. I thought it was whiskey all this time. And yes, I like smelling it, rather than drinking it. Lol). On another note, this gave me a really cool idea on how I could name this drink, since simply calling it “Mojito” alone doesn’t really sit right with me. Lol. I have a theory tho that most people probably don’t really care about it–which rum to use for mojitos. Haha. Let me know in the poll below! 😀

Ingredients

• Dark rum
• Lime juice
• Brown sugar
• Mint leaves
• Plain soda water
• Ice

Steps

1. Pour 1 shot of dark rum (2 if it’s a long day) in a tall glass
2. Add 1 oz of freshly squeezed lime juice
3. Add 1 tsp brown sugar
4. Fill the glass with ice
5. Top with plain soda water
6. Add in a few mint leaves and give it a good stir until the sugar is dissolved
   **I added a salt + sugar rim on this one but it’s kinda hard to see on the picture above

This post, the mojito research specifically, has proven to be quite a fun project which makes me look forward to my next mojito attempt! Maybe I can try using a lime-flavoured-soda next time! More from the mojito rabbit hole episode, I can also use a muddler for the lime wedges and mint leaves for a better flavour extraction, and that using a muddler is actually a very important part of the mojito ritual. Don’t have a muddler? That’s cool, you can use a wooden spoon, mortar+pestle, or anything you can use to crush the lime and mint really. I hope you learned something and enjoyed reading this post! So, let me know in the poll below if mojitos should have a white or a dark rum in it! Cheers!