Mojito.

The mojito's origins are contested and the popular version of the story should be treated with suspicion. The most repeated tale credits a sixteenth-century drink called El Draque, associated with Francis Drake's crew, made from aguardiente, lime, sugar and mint as a medicinal remedy — a plausible antecedent, but the direct line from it to the modern mojito is asserted far more confidently than the evidence supports. What is better documented is that the drink as we know it took its shape in Havana in the early twentieth century, once light column-distilled Cuban rum existed to replace harsh aguardiente.

La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana is the bar most associated with it, helped enormously by a framed line attributed to Ernest Hemingway declaring his mojito came from there and his daiquiri from El Floridita. That attribution is widely doubted by historians, who point out the handwriting and provenance have never been convincingly established and that Hemingway was not much of a mojito drinker. The bar is still worth visiting; the quote is best enjoyed as folklore rather than fact.

The one detail that matters technically is the mint. Cuban mojitos use yerba buena, a spearmint variety with a softer, less menthol-forward flavour than the peppermint often sold in northern supermarkets. Bartenders in Havana traditionally add whole sprigs and press them lightly against the side of the glass, or simply slap the mint between the palms to wake the oils and drop it in. The modern habit of muddling mint aggressively with a wooden pestle is a mistake that spread through cocktail bars abroad, and it is the reason so many mojitos taste of lawn clippings.