Mint, lime, sugar and soda over a white rum alternative — press the mint, never shred it.
beClink Editorial·August 11, 2026
Time
5 min
Serves
1
Base
White rum
Glass
Tall glass
Garnish
Mint sprig and a lime wheel
A mojito is five ingredients and one technique, and the technique is the part everyone gets wrong. Mint is pressed, not muddled to death: you want the oil out of the leaf, not the leaf out of the leaf. Grind it and you release chlorophyll, which is bitter, and the drink turns the color of a swamp.
The rest is easy, and it is easy without alcohol too. Lime and sugar and soda were always carrying this drink — the rum is there for the vanilla and cane underneath rather than for any heat, which is why a mojito is one of the more forgiving classics to rebuild. Which rum alternative you use still changes it, though, and that is the question worth spending a minute on before you start.
15 ml (½ fl oz)Sugar syrup or two bar spoons of caster sugar
Soda water to top, cold
Crushed ice
Method
Put the mint leaves and sugar syrup in the bottom of a tall glass. Press once with the back of a spoon — firmly, and only once. You are bruising the leaves to release the oil, not shredding them.
Add the lime juice and the rum alternative and stir.
Fill the glass with crushed ice and stir again from the bottom, lifting the mint up through the drink.
Top with cold soda water and stir once more, gently.
Slap a mint sprig between your palms and plant it at the top of the glass, where you will smell it before you taste anything.
Shop the Recipe
Everything you need to pour this
What we reached for, and what else works. Everything here is in stock — swap freely.
From your kitchen: mint leaves, lime juice, sugar syrup, soda water, crushed ice.
In this glass
Mix & Match: any 2–5 items save 5% · 6–23 save 7% · 24+ save 10%, applied automatically in your cart. Free shipping in the contiguous US, no minimum.
Make it yours
A clean white
RONSIN or Ritual — light, dry and never-alcoholized, so the mint and lime stay the loudest things in the glass. This is the closest to what a Cuban bar would pour.
A rounder white
Lyre's White Cane brings more vanilla and cane sweetness. Better if you like a softer mojito, and it lets you cut the sugar syrup back.
A dark float
Half a measure of a dark rum alternative poured over the top. Molasses and spice against the mint — closer to a Queen's Park swizzle than a mojito, and worth trying once.
Strawberry
Three berries pressed with the mint. The most popular version there is, and it wants a little less sugar to compensate.
Mango
45ml of mango purée in place of half the soda. Thicker, sweeter and it suits a rounder rum.
Passion fruit
The pulp of one, added with the lime. Tart, floral and it looks extraordinary.
Watermelon
60ml of fresh juice in place of half the soda. Summer in a glass, and barely sweet at all.
Less sweet
Halve the syrup and add a squeeze more lime. The mint gets sharper and the drink gets more refreshing, not less.
Coconut
A bar spoon of cream of coconut with the syrup. Rounder and softer — most of a piña colada's appeal, in a mojito's shape.
Ginger
Top with ginger beer instead of soda. Warmer, spicier, and closer to a mule than a mojito — no bad thing.
For a crowd
Mix the rum alternative, lime and syrup in a jug and keep it cold. Press mint into each glass individually and top with soda at the table — a batched mojito with the mint already in it turns bitter within the hour.
Without mint
Not really a mojito, but a rum alternative with lime, sugar and soda is a fine drink and it is what to make when the mint in the fridge has gone.
How to serve & pair
In a tall glass, with more crushed ice than feels sensible, and a straw short enough that the mint sits under your nose.
It is a hot afternoon drink and it does not sit — the soda goes flat and the mint goes dark. Make it when you are ready to drink it, and make the next one fresh.
Common questions
Why did my mojito turn bitter?
The mint was over-muddled. Pressing a leaf releases the oil; grinding it tears the cell walls and releases chlorophyll, which is bitter and turns the drink dark green. One firm press with the back of a spoon is all it needs.
Do I need crushed ice?
It is much better with it. Crushed ice chills faster and dilutes as you drink, which is part of how a mojito works. No crusher needed — put cubes in a clean tea towel and hit them with a rolling pin.
Can I make mojitos ahead for a party?
Mix the rum alternative, lime and syrup ahead and keep it cold, but press the mint into each glass as you serve. Mint left sitting in liquid turns bitter and dark within about an hour, so a fully batched mojito gets worse the longer it waits.
Do I need the rum alternative?
You can make it without and it is still a good drink — mint, lime and soda were always doing most of the work. What the rum alternative adds is a vanilla and cane note underneath, which is the difference between a mojito and a limeade with mint in it.
Which rum alternative is best for a mojito?
A clean, dry white one. A mojito is mint and lime first, so a rum that stays out of the way suits it better than a heavily flavored bottle. RONSIN and Ritual are dry and never-alcoholized; Lyre's White Cane is rounder and sweeter, which some people prefer and which lets you cut the sugar back.
Can I use a dark rum alternative?
You can, and it makes a different drink rather than a worse one — molasses and spice against the mint. Half a measure floated on top is the usual way to do it. A full measure of dark takes over, and the mint stops being the point of the drink.
Rum & Tropical
