How to Make a Mojito in 5 Steps

Set everything out before you start. Mojitos move fast and you don't want to be hunting for a strainer with one hand while the ice melts in the other.

You need white rum, a small bunch of fresh mint, plain club soda or seltzer, granulated sugar, fresh limes, and ice. On the tool side, grab a cocktail shaker (or a pint glass with a metal tin), a muddler, a jigger, and a tall Collins or highball glass. Meredith uses a Bacardi Superior and a heavy-bottomed shaker glass in the video, but any white rum and any sturdy cocktail tin will do.

Drop a small handful of fresh mint leaves - about 8 to 10 - into the bottom of your cocktail shaker tin. Add a teaspoon of granulated sugar right on top.

Take a muddler (the rounded end of a wooden spoon works in a pinch) and press straight down, then twist, then press again. You want to bruise the mint and grind the sugar against the leaves, not shred them. Keep going until the smell of mint is strong and the sugar has mostly dissolved into the oils. About 15 to 20 seconds.

Pour two ounces of white rum into the tin, right on top of the muddled mint. One full pour on a 2-ounce jigger or a generous two-count free pour.

Squeeze one ounce of fresh lime juice in next. One ripe lime usually gets you there - roll it on the counter under your palm first to break up the cells, then halve and squeeze. Drop in a generous handful of ice cubes, almost filling the tin. Fresh, dry ice cubes are what you want here; old freezer ice picks up smells and waters the drink down.

Cap the shaker firmly. Hold the top with one hand and the bottom with the other, and shake hard for about 30 seconds. Long, sharp shakes, not gentle stirs.

You're looking for the outside of the tin to feel painfully cold and to fog up. That frost on the metal is the signal that the drink is fully chilled, the sugar is dissolved, and the flavors have come together. If the tin still feels barely cool, shake another 10 seconds.

Fill a Collins or highball glass with fresh ice cubes - not the spent shaker ice. Pop the cap off the shaker, fit the strainer over the tin, and pour the mojito over the ice. Give the tin a little wiggle at the end so every drop comes through.

Top with a splash of plain club soda or seltzer - about two to three ounces, just enough to fill the glass. Tuck two fresh mint sprigs in next to the rim so the drinker smells the mint with every sip. Serve right away.