Post #5707 by thejab on Mon, Aug 12, 2002 10:03 PM

Although I'm not sure of the origins of the Mojito I believe it preceded the mint julep. The book "Famous New Orleans Drinks" (1937) states the San Domingo Julep "seems to be the original mint julep that came to Louisiana away back in 1793, at the time the white aristocrats, who were expelled from San Domingo by the uprising of the blacks, settled in New Orleans. In the United States, especially those states south of the Mason and Dixon line, Bourbon whiskey gradually took the place of sugar cane rum as the spirit of the drink." The recipe for the San Domingo julep is:

1 sugar cube
1 1/2 jugger of rum
sprigs of mint

Drop the sugar into a tall glass, moisten with a little water. Drop in a few mint leaves and muddle. Fill with shaved or crushed ice. Add rum and jiggle with bar spoon. Add mint sprig.

Note absence of lime juice.

The Trader Vic Bartender's Guide (1947) says a Mojito goes like this:

1/2 lime
3 sprigs mint
1 tsp. bar sugar
2 oz. Puerto Rico rum

Squeeze lime and drop shell in 10 oz. glass; add sugar to juice and mint leaves and muddle. Fill glass with shaved ice; pour rum over ice; stir or swizzle until glass frosts. Add dash of charged water; garnish with mint and serve with straws.