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Cuba, Havana

The Mojito Journey

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Havana, Cuba. One goal of the trip was simple: drink as many mojitos as possible, and learn to make one in Cuba itself.

Storied hotel bars, lively nightclubs, back-alley restaurants — wherever we went, we ordered a mojito.

A mojito and cigar at a courtyard bar A mojito in a hotel lounge A mojito and cigar on a seaside terrace A mojito and cigar by the pool
Mojito bar-hopping

After dozens of glasses, the answer we arrived at was almost anticlimactic in its simplicity: the mojito at the famous La Bodeguita del Medio was, in the end, the best of all.

A bartender making a mojito at La Bodeguita del Medio
La Bodeguita del Medio, Havana

We bought lime, mint, and rum at a local market. The hardest part was finding ice — refrigeration was still uncommon in Cuba at the time, and there was no commercial ice for sale. We went from door to door in the back streets until a local family shared some with us, and finally managed to make a glass.

Mint, lime, and Havana Club bought at a local market Mint, lime, and Havana Club 3-year we bought
The mint and lime we bought, with a 1L bottle of Havana Club 3-year

We shared the finished glass with friends we'd made in Cuba, and took their honest feedback to heart. Back in Japan, we retraced that memory, rebuilding the recipe around what we'd learned at La Bodeguita del Medio — and that's how FINCA LA VIGIA OKINAWA's mojito was born.

Food from a gathering with friends Friends talking at the gathering Serving mojitos to Cuban friends
A gathering with friends. We shared mojitos with the friends we'd made in Cuba.

The glass we built from that trip is now our most popular cocktail. We source our mint directly from a contract farm, staying as true as we can to the memory of that taste in Havana, recreated here in Okinawa.

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