El Mojito Perfecto

It is summer in the northern hemisphere, which means, if where you are is anywhere like where I am, it is quite hot. And what better way to cool off on a hot day than with a cold drink? And who knows cold drinks better than the residents of tropical island nations like Cuba? Exactly. Which is why today's recipe is for

El Mojito Perfecto

A mojito is a Cuban rum-based drink with flavors of lime and mint. It was famously enjoyed by Hemingway when he was working on The Old Man and the Sea, but authorities have yet to conclusively link it to his suicide. The mojito is so tasty that you'll forget that there is alcohol in it, but there is, so don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or be underage when you drink it. The safety valve for mojitos is that, even though they are tasty enough that you could get drunk without realizing you are drinking, they are complicated enough to make that you'll become incapable of making any more before long.

For each glass you're going to make, acquire the following:

• 1 lime
• 5 mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• 1.5 ounces simple syrup (sugar and water, which we'll cover below)
• Several cubes of ice
• 2 ounces white rum
• Enough club soda to top off the glass, maybe an ounce

You'll also have to have these handy:

• 1 sharp knife
• 1 tall, thin (highball) glass
• 1 wooden spoon with a wooden handle (or special muddling instrument)
• 1 small sauce pan
• 1 juicer, if you've got it

To make simple syrup (and my version of simple syrup is as simple as it's going to get), combine equal parts water and granulated sugar (let's say 1.5 tablespoons of each) in your sauce pan. Heat this over medium on your stove, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved in the water. Don't let it boil.

Squeeze all the juice you can out of the lime. You should be able to get about an ounce from it. If you can't, start a new lime.

Add the mint leaves, powdered sugar, and ounce of lime juice to the bottom of your glass. Shove the handle-end of your wooden spoon into the glass and muddle the mint. Muddling means mixing up the mint with the sugar and lime juice in a mildly violent fashion. The goal is to tear apart the mint to a certain degree in order to release its flavors. When you can smell minty freshness coming from the glass, you know you've done it right.

Add 1.5 ounces of the simple syrup to the glass, then fill it with cubes of ice. Now pour in the two ounces of rum and add a splash of club soda—just enough to top off the drink, not more than an ounce.

Enjoy with friends (although I just told you how to make one mojito, you should probably make enough for everybody). And remember, as Cuban Spider-Man says, with great mojito comes great responsibility.