No, I Don’t Know Where to Get a Good Mojito
Nobody does. Every bartender hates them. Here’s the case against the mojito – and what to order instead.
Almost every time I entertain friends and family visiting Miami, at some point during their stay, I’ll inevitably get asked where they can get a good mojito. Like clock work, every time.
In case you didn’t notice, the World Cup is also in town (shout out Tartan Army!), the city is packed, and we’re all going to be fielding this question constantly for the next two weeks. My answer hasn’t changed: don’t.
The mojito became a signature Miami drink as the Cuban community grew in South Florida, and it remains the most popular cocktail in Cuba today. That history is real. What almost always ends up in your glass is not.
The issue is execution. What arrives is wayyyyy too sweet, loaded with barely muddled mint, and made with whatever rum the bar is trying to get rid of that day. Properly muddling mint takes a gentle hand and a quiet bar. Most places have neither on a Friday night. And even when someone does it right, you still can’t drink the thing — the mint gets stuck in your straw and stays there, making every sip harder than the last until you give up. The drink wins.
Bartenders loathe making them for the same reason: labor-intensive and they back up everything else at the bar. When you order one at peak hours, either everyone around you waits longer or the bartender cuts corners. Usually both.
The easiest swap if you must have a rum minty beverage is a daiquiri. Cafe La Trova on Calle Ocho offers the Daiquiri Clásico from cocktail rockstar Julio Cabrera made with Bacardi Superior, fresh lime, and sugar. It’s the drink the mojito was always trying to be. Swizzle in Miami Beach (and now in Ft. Laud, too) also does it just as simply with their Classic Daiquiri.
If the mint craving is the only non-negotiable, two places are doing a unique spin on the drink The Mint & Lime at the Champagne Bar at the Surf Club in Surfside combines Mount Gay XO Rum, Rémy 1738, fino sherry, lime, mint, and champagne into something unique and effervescent in a way a mojito could never. While at Sweet Liberty in Miami Beach, the Florida Cocktail takes Bacardi Cuatro Añejo, fresh lime, pineapple, and crème de menthe.
So next time you’re tempted, just do yourself a favor and order a daiquiri. It’s a better drink, and unlike a mojito, you’ll actually be able to finish it.