The Keto Mojito is the low-carb brother of the classic Cuban cocktail – refreshing, delicious, and best of all, easy to make! Don’t misunderstand me though, there IS a reason most bartenders dislike making them. It takes more time than a simple mixer and requires some gentle care, but once you know the ins and outs, it’s smooth sailing.
One of the keys to making a mojito is not to smash the ever living daylights out of the mint. You simply want to gently muddle them with the lime as a buffer between the muddler and the leaves. If you smash the leaves it does two things: makes the cocktail vegetal and it creates a mint smoothie. With a gentle muddling, you’re simply releasing the oils, NOT the plant-iness of the leaves. If you’ve ever had a mojito where you had to pic mint leaves from your teeth all night – that was a shitty mojito. Plain and simple.
Mojitos also walk a fine line between tart and sweet. I remember going to a latin club in Ybor City, Tampa and ordering mojitos. As I watched the bartender take great care to smash the leaves, shake the cocktail, and pour sweat and tears into each mojito, I was excited when the time came to drink it. Except, the cocktail was hot mess of what felt like sugar water and plants. At the time, I didn’t know any better and staved off mojitos for years until I finally had a GOOD mojito. The good mojitos are the ones where you taste the lime but don’t pucker from the tartness. You also don’t want more sweetness because it’s perfect – it’s there to cancel out the acidity.
Where does the mint come in? On the backside. It’s refreshing when it hits your taste buds. Something about the menthol seems to tell your body ‘hey buddy, it’s not that hot out here. Relax!’ Even if it’s a sweltering 95 degrees out in the Florida sun.
What is in a mojito cocktail?
Lime, sweetener, mint, seltzer water, and ice!
What does a mojito taste like?
When you first taste a mojito, you get the lime, but not tart or acidic due to the sweetness. Then, it finishes with the mint on the backside, providing a refreshing and clean taste.
What is the best rum for mojitos?
The best rum for a mojito is a good quality white rum. Although the original mojito recipe developed in Cuba called for Bacardi, there are a slew of great rums on the market today. Find one that you like and that fits within your budget.
Why not gold rum you ask? Gold rum is aged and thus has a much stronger flavor profile. The appeal and basis of the mojito is a clean, crisp profile that comes from the sweetness of the sugar and the rum – accented by the mint. With a gold rum, the mint flavor would simply take a back seat to the oakiness of the barrel aged rums.
Can you make a mojito without mint?
Short answer, no. Long answer? Yes. The quintessential mojito is made with mint, however, that doesn’t mean that you cant use other herbs you may have available. For example, basil makes an incredibly fresh cocktail – but then it’s not a mojito, it basically becomes a basil smash. Not to mention, basil tends to work better with a floral gin! Rosemary, thyme, etc, they’re all good, but move away from the classic mojito. Do experiment and find what you like!
Are mojitos for ladies?
What sort of question is this? You drink what you like and be unapologetic about it. Don’t worry about the opinions of others and be the best you that you can be.
If mint is not really your thing and you don’t care to try the Keto Mojito, or you are looking for another warm weather cocktail such as a Keto Rumchata or The Gimlet!
Keto Mojito
Refreshing, clean, and crisp, the Keto Mojito is an amazing cocktail the comes from the original Cuban cocktail!
Ingredients
- 2 oz (60ml) white rum
- ½-1 oz (15-30ml) Keto Simple Syrup (https://youtu.be/VLqWlywGKdw) or regular simple syrup for non low-carbers
- Lime with at least ½ oz (15ml) lime juice
- seltzer water (NOT club soda!)
- 5-7 mint leaves for the cocktail (NOT spearmint or peppermint)
- 4-7 mint leaves for garnish. This is NOT optional! You need the aroma to elevate the cocktail
Instructions
- Place the 5-7 mint leaves into a glass.
- Cut the lime into wedges and throw it into the glass.
- Add your simple syrup and rum to the glass.
- Gently muddle the ingredients together. You don't to destroy the mint leaves, but rather give them a soft muddling with the limes as a buffer.
- Add the ice and shake in a shaker tin for about 15 seconds.Pour the cocktail into a high ball glass and add more ice to fill the glass.
- Top with the seltzer water.Take the remaining mint leaves with one hand and gently smack them against the palm of your other hand. We want to release the mint oils to ignite the aromas!
- Garnish the cocktail with the mint and serve.
- Enjoy responsibly!
Notes
You can adjust the sweetness to your liking! It will also depend on how sweet or tart the limes are - the cocktail should be perfectly balanced between sweet and tart!
Nutrition Information
Serving Size 1 cocktailAmount Per Serving Calories 116Carbohydrates 0g
