Patrons crave big bold flavor in their cocktails today. They appreciate libations that are authentic and larger than life. They want a good strong drink, too –– one that does not necessarily taste that way –– to please their adventurous palates at the end of the day, when their guard is down and their tabs are open at their favorite watering holes.
    And more and more, purveyors and bar and general managers alike are finding that their guests’ greatest expectations in a cocktail are being met and then some by the Mojito. All over again, the Mojito –– whose name is said to have derived from the word, “mojo,” meaning “mixture”–– is proving itself to be a popular cocktail and a growing trend in bars, nightclubs, lounges and casino resorts around the country.
    First popular in the states in the 1890s for its ability to mask the taste of harsh or bad rum, the Mojito’s second incarnation a century later now showcases rather than hides the tropical flavors and the essences of grand Cuban and Caribbean brands such as Bacardi, Angostura, Appleton, Captain Morgan, Cadenheads, Cruzan, Gosling, Malibu, Matusalem, Mount Gay, 10 Cane and Whalers, just to mention a few.
    Yeah, sure, the Mojito can be a royal pain in the arse to prepare, particularly at busy peak times, what with all the muddling, the squeezing, the fussing over the sugar and the bitters and the slicing of the proper cane garnish. Yet with signature Mojitos commanding premium prices and with bar regimens that take much of the tediousness out of the preparation without necessarily sacrificing quality and authenticity, the revenue potential of the Mojito can more than compensate for the labor intensity that has become just part of the show at many choice bars and lounges.

The Three M’s
    David Wallack, owner of the fabled Mango’s Tropical Café and show bar on Ocean Boulevard in Miami Beach, Fla., is one veteran operator who will testify that the Mojito –– a house specialty at Mango’s –– is not just another pretty drink.
    “Along with the Martini and the Margarita, the Mojito has been coming on strong as a way important cocktail,” Wallack says. “We’ve been serving them for a long time. We serve a million people a year, and we sell a lot of Mojitos.”
    True to a Latin-themed concept that recreates the entertainment and the cuisine and the tropical atmosphere that visitors might have experienced at the Tropicana nightclub in Havana in the 1950s, Mango’s Mojitos are made just the way they originally were created in the cafes and bars of Cuba’s capital city.
    “We use real sugarcane and sugarcane sticks for the garnish, and we use fresh mint,” Wallack says, adding that the rum base for his Mojitos is exclusively Bacardi. “I’ve heard that they (vendors) get $12 for Mojitos on the beach, but they don’t make them any better than I do.”
    At a more hospitable but still profitable price point of $9, the repertoire of Mojitos available at Mango’s Tropical Café includes the Cuban, pineapple, coconut, mango, orange, banana as well as an Ultimate Añjeo Mojito. Such has been Mango’s success with the Mojito, going all the way back to the mid-1990s, the venue recently opened the Mojito Room –– a plush, private party room given over to private events during the week and open to the public on Friday and Saturday nights.
    At Chicago’s Nacional 27 –– a three-star, chef-driven eatery and nightclub that takes its name from the amalgam of 27 Central and South American and Latin Caribbean cuisines and cultures that it serves up nightly –– the Mojito literally has taken flight since the venue opened in late 1998. No doubt, part of the soaring success of the venue’s Mojito specialties –– a list that includes the Mojito Classic, the Pomegranate-Ginger Mojito, the Big Apple Mojito, the Colada Mojito, the Reserve Mojito and the Pineapple Mojito –– is the attention to detail that goes into each drink served.
    For its Mojito Classic, bartenders start with a lime and sugar rim on a chilled 16-ounce Mojito glass that has been prepped and stored in a bar cooler in advance. When a Mojito cocktail is ordered by a customer, the lime is squeezed and the juice is muddled with the fresh mint. Sugarcane syrup made in house to ensure drink consistency is added along with Bacardi Límon, ice and club soda.
    “We make our own trademark bitters,” Nacional 27 General Manager Adam Seger says. “We add just a couple of drops to the top of the drink to give it aromatics and a little bit of color. Then we add a sugarcane stir stick.”
    The rest of the recipe for revenue may be sheer marketing. The venue, which becomes a nightclub after 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, when tables and chair in the dining area are removed, features flights of three Mojitos –– the Mojito Classic, the Pomegranate-Ginger and the Colada Mojito –– for just $15. 
    For $25, Nacional 27 also offers a signature Reserve Mojito, made with 40-year-old Pyrat Cask 23 rum. Yet the ultimate in a Mojito at Nacional 27 has to be the Million-Dollar Mojito, a drink for four made with Grey Goose vodka and Krüg Champagne substituted for the club soda that sells for $100.
 
Making A Mint
     Seger, who expects Nacional 27 to reach the 100,000th mark in Mojito sales later on in the year, attributes the comeback success of the Mojito to a number of aligning factors. He cites the on-going Hispanic and Latin boom in the United States, the surging popularity of rums, and the trends toward fresh fruit ingredients and muddling in signature libations in general. 
        “I think the Mojito is a very well-balanced drink,” Seger says. “You have the lime for acidity, the syrup for sweetness, the mint as the herbal element and the bitters for the finish. It’s the perfect cocktail.” NCB