How To Make a Classic Mojito Cocktail with White Rum, Lime & Mint
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It doesn’t matter where you are, but when sipping a Classic Mojito Cocktail, you are immediately transported to a tropical beach, listening to the waves and feeling the sand between your toes.
This super popular Cuban cocktail is a favourite summer beverage throughout the world and is famous for its simple, yet powerful ingredients of mint, lime, rum, and soda.
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Classic Mojito Cocktail
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions and to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required as well as understand the steps and timings involved.
Like many classic cocktails, the origins of the Mojito are up for debate. It is said that the birthplace of the Mojito is Havana, Cuba, but also that it was invented by Sir Francis Drake, a 16th-century English explorer, or maybe by African slaves who worked in Cuban sugar plantations. The origins are fascinating and you can read more about the history of this cocktail over on Wikipedia.
Cuban Mojitos are highball cocktails, which means they have a larger proportion of non-alcoholic mixers than alcoholic spirits. White rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, soda water, and fresh mint are the ingredients you’ll need, and once tasted, it is never forgotten!
You start making this cocktail by muddling* fresh lime juice, sugar, and mint leaves together to release the essential oils from the mint. Rum is added to dissolve the sugar, then ice goes into the glass before being topped up with club soda and garnished with mint leaves and lime wedges if desired.
In some recipes for Mojito, you may find simple syrup being used instead of sugar, this is because the sugar is already dissolved, but the texture of the sugar is what some people love. For this classic recipe we’re sticking with real sugar, but by all means, use simple syrup if you prefer!
*Muddling means lightly mashing herbs, fruit, or other ingredients for cocktails using a muddling tool. If you don’t have a muddler, you can use the end of a wooden spoon instead.
Ingredients Used In This Cocktail
For your convenience, I’ve linked any specialized ingredients needed for this recipe to Amazon below.
- Fresh Produce – Limes, Mint
- White Rum – if you can use Cuban rum, all the better, but if you can’t any other type of white rum can be used instead. Bacardi is always a popular choice.
- White Sugar
- Club Soda
More Rum Cocktails To Make
Want to make more summer rum cocktails? I think you’re going to love these ones:
- Frozen Miami Vice Cocktail
- Tropical Paradise Cocktail with Rum & Banana Liqueur
- Tropical Blue Cocktail
Mojito Variations
I like to try and give variations on the cocktails shared on The Purple Pumpkin Blog, and especially turning the cocktail into a mocktail so that non-drinkers (and kids if suitable) can enjoy the drink too!
Virgin Mojito Mocktail – A Nojito! (Non-alcoholic)
So that non-drinkers can enjoy a virgin mojito you can leave out the rum and replace it with a spiced brown sugar syrup which may help to mimic the rum.
However, non-drinking adults who still want the rum flavor could experiment with a non-alcoholic alternative:
- White Cane Spirit from Lyre’s – “This unique spirit has been impossibly crafted to capture the essence of a gently aged white rum with flavours that are distinct and contemporary.” Their website has international versions too, including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, so they’re worth checking out for non-alcoholic alternatives!
To make a Mojito Mocktail, follow the recipe card, but replace the alcoholic elements with the syrups or non-alcoholic spirits suggested above.
I haven’t made the mocktail version, so I recommend adding the syrup to taste as they may add a sweetness that you may not necessarily get from rum.
Frozen Mojitos
Want to turn this cocktail into a frozen slushie? It’s easy! We’ll use simple syrup instead of sugar, and the mint leaves will get whizzed into the slushie, giving it an amazing green color.
Place 2oz simple syrup, juice of 2 limes, and 12 mint leaves into a blender until combined. Add 1½ cups of crushed ice and 4oz white rum and blend. Add more ice if you prefer a slushier consistency.
Serve with a straw, and watch out for brain freeze! You could do the same with the mocktail version too.
Mojito Twists
Want a twist (or two or three!) on the classic Mojito? Here are some to try out:
- Strawberry Mojito – add a few chopped strawberries to the glass when muddling.
- Blueberry Mojito – add a few blueberries to the glass when muddling.
- Blackberry Mojito – add a few blackberries to the glass when muddling.
- Cojito – Use coconut rum instead of regular white rum.
- Rose-ito – Use half white rum and half Lanique (a rose-flavored liqueur).
- Mojito Blanco – a Mexican alternative! Use Blanco tequila instead of rum.
- Mojito de Toronja – a Peruvian alternative! Use grapefruit instead of lime.
- Mojito de Maracuyá – another Peruvian alternative using passion fruit – stir in with the rum and soda.
Big Batch Mojitos
Want to make Mojitos for a crowd? It’s so easy!
The quantities below are for 6 servings, simply double, triple, or more and you’ll have plenty of the Cuban cocktail for your party!
- 6 limes, cut into six wedges
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- 5 mint sprigs, leaves picked off
- 12 oz white rum
- 20 oz club soda
- Ice
To make big batch of mojitos, muddle the lime wedges and sugar in a pitcher to release all of the juice. Muddle in the mint leaves. Add the rum and a generous amount of ice and stir. Top up with soda and enjoy!
Serve the large batch cocktail in drinks dispensers, or pitchers, or go really retro and serve it from a punch bowl! Whichever container best suits your event (and the drink!).
Make sure you add plenty of ice to your serving receptacle of choice to keep the cocktail chilled. Add mint leaves and lime slices in there too.
You could also skewer the lime and mint onto cocktail picks for guests to garnish their glasses of drink. Speaking of which, place cocktail glasses in the bar/serving area along with a filled ice bucket, stirrers, and cocktail decorations if suitable!
This cocktail recipe is intended for adults of the legal drinking age in your country of residence.
Please drink responsibly. Do not drink and drive.
How Do I Make a Classic Mojito Cocktail?
Just check out the recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, any pics don’t print to save your ink!).
Classic Mojito Cocktail
It doesn’t matter where you are, but when sipping a Classic Mojito Cocktail, you are immediately transported to tropical beach, listening to the waves and feeling the sand between your toes.
Ingredients
- 2 tsps sugar
- 1 oz lime juice
- 2 sprigs mint
- 2 oz white rum
- Ice
- Club soda, to top
- Mint leaves and lime wheels, to garnish
Instructions
- Add the sugar, lime juice, and mint sprigs to a highball glass, and muddle lightly.
- Add the rum and ice.
- Top with the club soda.
- Garnish with a mint sprig and lime wheel.
- Enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 10mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 3gSugar: 13gProtein: 1g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Meal!
The beverage is covered, but what about other dishes to make this recipe into a full meal? Here are my suggestions!
- Appetizer: Quick & Easy Spicy Salsa Recipe
- Soup: Cuban Black Bean Soup
- Salad: Tropical Island Rice Salad
- Main Dish: Cuban Mojo Pork – Perfect For Making Cubano Sandwiches!
- Side Dish: Cuban Mojo Potatoes – A Delicious Side Dish with Chili, Garlic & Lime
- Dessert: Creamy Banana Frozen Yogurt – A Yummy Summer Dessert Idea!
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy! Please feel free to check them out too.