Mojito
See this article and many more inspirational mixes at HotWired's
Cocktail website. The balmy, mambo-dancing, cocktail-sipping halcyon
days of Cuba are long gone. We never find today's Hemingways on Havana's terraces.
But that sweet bygone era of Mafia-supported elegance has bequeathed us the Mojito,
a cooling, effervescent libation. 
The Mojito was born in Cuba during this century's teen years. Simple enough
and old enough to be claimed as the creation of more than a few bartenders, this
classic is most closely tied to Cuba's famous La Bodeguita del Medio bar. This
establishment's bartenders worked hard to popularize the drink during the '30s
and '40s often resorting to name-dropping, most notably that of Ernest Hemingway.
Their efforts paid off. Soon popular with Havana's hipsters, the Mojito lifted
fresh mint out of its bit part as a mere cocktail garnish. An easy blend of sugar,
mint leaves, lime juice, rum, ice, and soda water (strictly in that order), a
Mojito (pronounced "moe-HEE-toe") is served in a tall glass sparkling with bubbles
and greenery, garnished with a sprig of mint on top.
 It's
such an elegant, cosmopolitan drink that few would guess it takes a miniature
baseball bat to mix it. The first step in Mojito creation is to use this tool
to muddle crush together the mint leaves and the simple syrup to release mint
oil into the mixture. The other key to a successful Mojito is to allow half of
your squeezed lime to bob in the mixture. The oils from the rind add a faint bitterness
that take our word for it is the essence of this drink. Its detractors, though
few, are quick to point out that "Mojito" is really just a fancy name for a rum
Collins mixed with mint.
As we sit, chewing on mint leaves after finishing a Mojito or
two, we often recall one of the drink's greatest charms, and its only liability:
 While
it is one of the rare cocktails that actually improves the odour of one's breath,
we occasionally walk away from the experience with bits of flora conspicuously
stuck to our front teeth.
See this article and many more inspirational mixes at HotWired's
Cocktail website: http://www.hotwired.com/cocktail.
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