Let’s talk Mojitos. Mojitos are great. They’re light, they’re fresh, they’re a cocktail you can drink in every season and, best of all, they’re super easy to make.
Like many of the older classic cocktails, the origins of the Mojito are hotly disputed. The working theory is that it was first made in 1586 and named after Sir Francis Drake.
The story goes that Drake was one of Queen Elizabeth I’s privateer goons out to steal (some might even say plunder) all he could get from the Spanish colonies in the so-called ‘New World’. After plundering his way through Central and South America, his boat towed into beautiful Cuba. The locals feared this meant violence – as had been experienced in the rest of the Americas on Drake’s arrival – but instead, Drake docked and chilled in the port, before departing three days later, leaving Cuba plunder-free.
The departure of Drake was such a joyous event for the city, they named a drink after him known as the Draque. A cocktail that consisted of lime, sugar and mint, but with aguardiente de cana (a cane spirit and predecessor to rum) instead of rum.
The Draque cocktail was historically used for medicinal purposes, especially as cholera was going around Cuba at the time. Author Ramon de Paula wrote of the cocktail: “Every day at eleven O'clock, I consume a little Draque made from Aguardiente and I am doing well.” Of course, we now know The Draque does nothing for cholera, but it sure does go down a treat.
That cocktail stayed pretty much the same until Bacardi started distilling rum in the mid-1800s. Naturally, the aguardiente was replaced by the new and exciting rum and ta dah! The modern Mojito.
