Gimme Gomme

A Cocktail of the Week update ...

Ethan and Matt, because I want you to experience the true pleasure that is the Havana Mojito, you can make your own gomme syrup. Matt has it pretty close with just adding the sugar. But by creating the syrup, the drink -- at least to me -- has a silkier feel.

Here's the recipe I use, courtesy of DrinkBoy:

You first bring the water to a boil, then dissolve into this the sugar. Once the sugar is fully dissolved, you remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool. The resultant liquid is easily stored in a plastic squeeze bottle to make it easy to add to cocktails as necessary.

The ratio of sugar to water can be left to personal preference, traditionally it is one part water to two parts sugar.

I suppose this can be stored for a limited time in the fridge, although I go through a batch during most social occasions.

DrinkBoy also provides some more of the drink's colorful history.

It's been around for quite some time, starting out as a thirst quencher used by workers down in Cuba who were harvesting sugar cane. The rum they had available to them was fairly rough, and so they'd add a little sugar cane juice to sweeten it up, as well as water to both soften it's bite and make it cooling on a hot day.

It eventually became the popular drink for the working class to relax with on the hot beaches, gradually evolving to include lime juice, mint, and soda water. In those days the upper classes were drinking Daiquiris at the La Floridita bar, while the Mojito was all but ignored as being just for the "common" folks. After the Cuban rebellion, the fleeing refugees brought the Mojito with them to Florida, where it gradually became popular amongst the general public. Now you can find it almost anywhere.

Properly made, this drink needs fresh mint, and requires a little more time than many other drinks, so be nice to your bartender, and avoid ordering it if there is much of a crowd.

Or just make it at your own gathering and think of me. Upon the first toast, you must say, "To Jake, ba-ba-loo!"