Three Mojito Versions, From Muddled Home Drink to Spheres

Key points

• The home mojito needs about 10 mint leaves, one full tablespoon of sugar, 2 oz of aged white rum and cubed ice, topped with club soda, with the lime pressed firmly but briefly to avoid bitterness. 0:26
• The pro version swaps in crushed ice and demerara syrup (half an ounce, made from equal parts sugar and hot water) with about 3/4 oz of fresh lime juice, and because crushed ice melts faster, more of it is needed. 2:34
• Any flavour can be made by replacing the sugar with a flavoured syrup or muddling fresh fruit such as mango, watermelon or cucumber, with a strainer used to keep fruit pieces out of the drink. 3:40
• The expert version sets a mojito into spheres: calcium lactate at 2% of the liquid's weight (1 g for the batch) is combined with a sodium alginate bath of 5 g per liter, and the frozen mojito sits in the bath for 3 minutes. 4:54
• Because the frozen spheres have no carbonation, the expert method puts them in a siphon with one CO2 charger and refrigerates it for 30 minutes to produce a fizzy result. 6:26

Words the video explains

• Spherification — Spherification is a process that uses sodium alginate and calcium lactate to form squishy spheres from liquid, with a texture similar to caviar. 4:26
• Muddle — Pressing lime and sugar, or mint, to release juice and aromatics. 1:01
• Sodium alginate — An ingredient used with calcium lactate to form the spherification membrane; the bath uses 5 g per liter of filtered water. 5:18
• Calcium lactate — Added at 2% of the liquid's weight, so about 1 g for this amount, to make the spherification work. 4:54

What you need

• Lime — Half a lime for the home version; one half lime for about 3/4 oz juice in the pro version
• Mint — 6 to 12 leaves, keeping a sprig for garnish
• Sugar — 1 full tablespoon of regular sugar (home version)
• White rum — 2 oz white rum
• Club soda — A couple of ounces, topped as preferred
• Crushed ice — A lot of crushed ice for the pro version
• Demerara syrup — Half an ounce of demerara syrup, made from equal parts hot water and sugar

Steps

• 1. Muddle lime and sugar: Press half a lime with one tablespoon of sugar in a mason jar, then gently press the mint so it does not turn bitter. 0:50
• 2. Add white rum: Pour about 2 oz of white rum, starting with that amount and adjusting to taste. 1:22
• 3. Top with club soda and garnish: Stir with a spoon, add a few ice cubes, top with club soda, then slap mint sprigs and place them on top. 1:40
• 4. Build the pro version: Add crushed ice to the rum and syrup, stir with a bar spoon, pour club soda on top, and garnish with a slapped mint sprig. 3:13
• 5. Freeze the mojito spheres: Put mojito liquid with calcium lactate and mint leaves into small molds and freeze for one hour. 5:06

Questions to check yourself