Post #5786 by kongtiki on Tue, Aug 13, 2002 2:20 PM

The free Alta Vista translation of the French from the second link in my post above has this to say, if somewhat awkwardly:
"Mojito was discovered in Cuba between 1910 and 1920 at a certain time when the Mafia cuban reigned and in the beginning, it was called Draque. It is about the middle of the 19th century that the original recipe of Draque was developed. When it was modified to include rum there, one gave him the name of Mojito (to pronounce with the cuban one: morito). Little time after, the Cubans prepared it everywhere with rum. In the middle of the Twenties, it had become the national drink of Cuba. Mojito is a very scented cocktail, slightly sweetened with a point of acidity. Been useful in glass high and furnished with chopped spearmint sheets (the purists insist on the choice of the "hierba buena", (the grass of happiness, a variety of cuban mint). Mojito without sugar, created at the beginning for Ernest Hemingway, because he did not digest sugar not rafiné, prepared with Gustos Maracino (a cuban liquor containing cherries) and a grapefruit peel. There is Mojito slightly more vigorous, at base of the brown rhums. The closest connection binds us to the popular bar Bodeguita del Medio in Cuba. In the Thirties and Forties, the barmans of Bodeguita del Medio Bar made this drink popular under the name, amongst other things, of Ernest Hemingways. Mojito is a very elegant, cosmopolitan drink. During its preparation, it is firstly a question of working the Mint sheets and Sugar with a rammer. One then makes run half of a green lemon in a hurry on this mixture. This oil gives to Mojito this a little acid taste, which represents "sine qua non" this drink. Mojito is one of the only Cocktails which improves the breath. One must however pay attention to have to remove all the pieces of Mint sheets wedged between the teeth before leaving the bar! "