Mojito - white rum, sugar, lime juice, sparkling water, and mint. Refreshing on a hot summer's day. Necessity when you are a prominent author sipping them in a Cuban bar called La Bodeguita del Medio. Cheers, Hemingway!
Made famous by Ernest Hemingway, the birthplace of the mojito is suspected to be in or around Cuba, as there is an old tale of the mojito being created out of the need to rid sailors of scurvy. While there are many different versions of the mojito creation tale, there are also many version of this classic drink.
We will gladly drink our scurvy staving off medicine here in the desert. Waiter, another round of meds, if you please?
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In This Corner: The Breadfruit
The Setup: Specializing in Jamaican cuisine, The Breadfruit, along with its cocktail lounge, Rum Bar, offer up a variety of tropical cocktails to compliment their fresh seafood dishes. The reclaimed wood that wraps the bar, lined with a variety of rums, makes you feel like you are inside the cozy cabin of a ship. Rum and cigar pairings are also offered for those who would like to step outside to their cigar patio for a swig and a puff.
The Mojito Classic is made up of Matusalem Platino rum from the Dominican Republic, mint, lime and club soda. The cocktail is served in the traditional style of a highball, with muddled mint and limes floating amidst the ice.
The Good: Superbly balanced, the Mojito Classic is refreshing, light, not cloyingly sweet, with the rum adding a great layer of flavor and not tasting aggressively boozy.
The Bad: Sipping these becomes dangerous quickly as they go down so easily, that one turns into three, which turns into five.
In This Corner: The Duce
The Setup: The funky eclectic spot know as The Duce, resides in a 1928 former produce warehouse. Order off the menu and pick up at the 1968 streamline camper turned kitchen, or play a round of corn hole with your friends. With a mélange of things going on, you will never be bored at The Duce.
The Mojito is made with Crusoe Silver Organic Rum, fresh lime juice, muddled organic lime and mint, soda and agave. This cocktail is served in very Duce style of a mason jar, with a colorful straw and a wheel of lime.
The Good: On a hot night, the minty lime concoction is light accompaniment to sitting on their open-air patio.
The Bad: The mojito is overly sweet and unbalanced in its composition, leaving us feeling done after one.
And the winner is...The Breadfruit. While we love to taste different takes on classic drinks, Mojito Classic knocked our socks off with its balanced flavors, and all night sip-ability.
