Each year, National Mojito Day is celebrated on July 11—which is fitting, since there’s no better way to beat the summer heat than a cold, minty, refreshing mojito!
A classic mojito calls for white rum, sugar or simple syrup, lime, soda water, and lots of fresh mint.
Like the drink itself, the history of the mojito… is a bit muddled. While most historians agree that the drink hails from Havana, Cuba, that’s where the agreement ends.
One legend claims that after raiding Cartagena de Indias in 1586, Sir Francis Drake and his crew were plagued by dysentery and scurvy. A scouting party went ashore to Cuba, and sought a remedy for their illness—the result was a mixture of crude rum, lime, sugarcane juice, and mint. And thus, the mojito was born in its earliest form.
Another version of the drink’s history claims that African slaves working in the Cuban sugar cane fields created a drink from sugar cane juice that loosely resembled today’s mojito.
Even the name “mojito” is a matter of some debate. One theory claims that the moniker derives from “mojo”—a lime-infused Cuban seasoning. Or, it is perhaps a twist on the word “mojadito”—which means “a little wet” in Spanish.
Regardless of its origin, the mojito has persisted as one of the world’s most popular cocktails, and the original recipe has been endlessly riffed on, spawning countless creations that infuse the traditional recipe with various types of rums, fruits and herbs—such as the strawberry mojito, kumquat mojito, or green tea mojito.
This July 11, see what new and exciting twists you can come up with… or kick back, relax, and enjoy the Classic cuban highball in its purest form.
National Mojito Day is typically celebrated in USA.