Miami
Guided tour · 2h 30m
Miami: Little Havana Food Walking Tour with Tastings
Experience the thriving culinary scene of Miami's Little Havana and enjoy tasty, authentic Cuban cuisine. Learn about local history and culture as...
from$70Check dates
History
The mojito traces back to 16th-century Havana, when British naval surgeon Sir Francis Drake reportedly mixed a similar drink to combat sailors' scurvy on the Cuban coast. The modern formula codified in early 20th-century Havana at La Bodeguita del Medio, where Ernest Hemingway famously kept a regular table. Miami's Cuban exile community brought the cocktail north in the 1960s; today every Calle Ocho bar runs one, with Versailles and La Carreta among the canonical addresses. The canonical garnish is hierbabuena, a Cuban mint variety.
Book a food experience
Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.
Boston
Guided tour · 2 hours
Boston: North End & Little Italy Food Tour with Local Dishes
Choose a 2-hour express or 3-hour full Boston food tour. Taste clam chowder, arancini, brick oven pizza, cannoli, and more while exploring the North...
from$86Check dates
Chicago
Guided tour · 2 hours
Chicago: Gangsters and Food Tasting Walking Tour
Taste some of Chicago's most iconic foods while walking through one of the Prohibition Era’s most fashionable and notorious gangster-ridden...
from$75Check dates
Charleston
Guided tour · 2.5 hours
Charleston: Small Group Food Tour, Savor the Flavors
Experience the flavors of Charleston with the help of local guides. Delve into over 300 years of culinary history as you taste your way through the...
from$111Check dates
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 10 to 12 fresh mint leaves (preferably Cuban mint or hierbabuena; English spearmint works but spearmint is sharper)
- 2 tsp white granulated sugar (or 15ml simple syrup)
- 30ml fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 60ml white rum (Bacardi Superior, Havana Club Anejo Blanco, or Don Q Cristal)
- Crushed ice to fill
- About 90ml chilled sparkling soda water (top off)
- 1 lime wheel and 1 fresh mint sprig for garnish
- Optional: 2 drops Angostura bitters (a contemporary Miami touch)
Method
- Place the mint leaves and sugar in the base of a tall Collins glass (or a pint glass).
- Press the mint gently with a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon, just enough to release the oils; do not pulverise (this is the structural step; over-muddled mint releases bitter chlorophyll).
- Add the fresh lime juice and stir until the sugar starts to dissolve.
- Pour in the white rum.
- Fill the glass to the top with crushed ice; stir briefly with a bar spoon to chill and integrate.
- Top with chilled sparkling soda water to within 1cm of the rim.
- Add a final crown of crushed ice if room allows.
- Garnish with a lime wheel slipped down the inside of the glass and a tall fresh mint sprig standing tall.
- Add the optional 2 dashes of Angostura bitters across the top (modern Miami touch). Serve immediately with a paper or metal straw and a small spoon for stirring.
Tip from the editors. Muddle the mint very gently; bruising releases oils, pulverising releases bitter compounds. Use crushed ice (not cubes); the rapid dilution and the cold are part of the structural texture. Cuban mint (hierbabuena) is more delicate and fragrant than spearmint; if you have access to a Cuban grocer or grow your own, it makes a noticeable difference.
Where to eat mojito
Mojito in Miami
Versailles ★ 4.5
Versailles in Miami is the 1971 Cuban institution at 3555 SW 8th Street, open until midnight every night and 1am on weekends with the ventanita pouring.
TryCuban full plates and ventanita cafecito
TipWeekend 1am closing on the dining room; the ventanita stays open later. Order vaca frita and a cortadito.
Yardbird ★ 4.5
Yardbird in Miami Beach is the Southern brunch room at 1600 Lenox Avenue, with 27-hour brined fried chicken, biscuits and bourbon-maple syrup on a Saturday.
OrderChicken n watermelon n waffles with bourbon-maple syrup
TipBook the patio at 10am for Saturday brunch; the queue stretches to 1pm by noon.
La Carreta ★ 4.1
La Carreta in Miami is the Calle Ocho Cuban diner at 3632 SW 8th Street, a sister room to Versailles serving abuela-style plates and cafe con leche from 8am.
OrderLechon asado with moros y cristianos and a side of tostones.
TipThe ventanita pours strong cafecito at any hour; the dining room is quieter than Versailles next door.
Joe's Stone Crab ★ 4.7
Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach is the 1913 South of Fifth seafood cathedral, serving chilled stone crab claws with mustard sauce from October 15 to May 1.
OrderJumbo or large stone crab claws with the mustard sauce and a side of creamed spinach.
TipNo reservations for dinner; arrive by 5pm or use the take-away counter next door for the same claws to-go.
More cities are in research. Want mojito covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.