My Mojito

I feel a certain ownership of the mojito. I first tasted one on a fondly remembered holiday and it was the first cocktail I was asked to make in my brief stint as a cocktail bar-man. It's subsequently become my cocktail of choice and for New Year's I will be making a pilgrimage of sorts and sipping mojitos on Club Havana beach in Cuba. That's what passes for spirituality these days.

Making mojito's is a lot like having sex. Everyone has their own way of doing it though some are better at it than others. I like to think, through practice, I've become quite accomplished...at least where it comes to mojitos.

There are four essential ingredients in a mojito; rum, sugar, mint and lime. Outside of this any number of variations on the theme exists, and as with all cocktails, personal preferances for mixing, temperature and presentation vary. The version here is really more a cover version but hits my taset-buds in all the right spots. I eschew the traditional white rum for the warmer hues and fuller flavour of golden rum (Havana Club Anejo Especial) and topping it off with ginger ale suits my sweet tooth better.

Here's how I make them.

Ingredients:

• Half a lime, cut into 4 wedges (plus one for garnish)
  
• Half dozen mint leaves, with stalks (plus one for garnish)
  
• Dash of sugar syrup (equal parts caster sugar and water dissolved)
  
• Crushed ice
• 70 ml rum (Havanna Club)
• Ginger Ale
  
• Angustura Bitters

Put the lime, mint and sugar syrup into a high-ball tumbler and muddle together. You can buy a special implement for this, a pestle-like tool, though the back of a spoon will suffice. The aim is to release the oils in the mint leaves. Fill the glass with crushed ice. You can buy it in Lidl or, depending on fitness levels, wrap some ice-cubes in a (clean) tea-towel and get to work with a rolling pin. Add a liberal measure of rum (70 ml is only a guide. Go on, slosh it in there). Shake the ingredients vigorously. Top up with ginger ale and more ice if necessary. Finish with three or four drops of Angostura Bitters to add an aromatic top note to the drink.

To some, this seems like a lot of trouble to go to for a drink. Truth be told, it is. A busy bar-man won't thank you for the order. But practice makes perfect and after you have made an unholy mess with your first few attempts (a sharp shot of lime-juice to the eye teaches you to adopt a more relaxed muddling technique) and adjusted the ingredients to suit your own palate, you will be banging out the high-balls like a regular Tom Cruise, back when that was a good thing. To crank up the ceremony (and the alcohol content), replace the ginger ale with some fizz. I use Prossecco but anything bubbly will give you that extra touch of decadence.

Out about town Secret Eating Habits has gone to the trouble of tasting a few mojitos for research purposes. For a bargain, head to the Front Lounge where they bang them out at e6.50 a pop on a Thursday. Alternatively, hit the Morgan in Temple Bar where for e11 you get a real lip-smacker. Order yourself a plate from the tapas menu and for 20 quid you'll keep yourself nicely out of trouble for a half hour or so. e14 gets you a wondefully crafted mojito in the Octagon Bar of the Clarence and if you think that's steep see what it wil cost you after the rebuild.

Finally, the obligatory drink responsibly disclaimer. With all that's going on in the glass it's easy to forget that the mojito is a pretty potent elixer so here's a good recipe for some suitable soakage from Good Mood Food: Mojito Lime and Mint Chicken