Production identity
Category: classic cocktail · Style: Highball · Yield: 1 service · Portion: 1 drink
Glass / vessel: House-appropriate glassware · Ice: As specified by service method · Garnish: As required by house spec
Formula — 1× target batch
Scaling table
Scaling is arithmetic, not permission to ignore service behavior. Verify the 1× formula first, then make a controlled intermediate batch before a 50× event batch.
Method
- Gently muddle the fresh ingredients with the sweetener.
- Add the remaining ingredients and ice.
- Finish in a collins glass, garnish, and serve.
Working numbers
Measured pre-dilution liquid represented in ounce-based ingredients: 5.75 oz where applicable. Dilution control: Dilution is part of the recipe. Establish the house target with a measured training sample and record it rather than relying on an unverified universal percentage.
Storage: Single-service formula. Prepare to order unless the Academy batch version explicitly authorizes advance production. Shelf-life rule: Not a holding specification. Perishable ingredients follow the venue’s approved date/time and food-safety procedure; discard any component that is out of standard.
Labeling: For single service, use the current controlled house recipe. For any batch, label identity, version, production date/time, responsible person and the approved discard/review point.
Critical controls
- Measure each ingredient with the specified tool; do not free-pour during calibration.
- Control ingredient and vessel temperature before changing dilution.
- Taste the finished drink at service condition, not the warm undiluted mix.
- Use only the written substitution path; product changes can alter sugar, ABV, bitterness and final balance.
Production verification
Make the formula exactly as written before adjusting it. Record actual packaged or finished yield, starting ingredient temperature where it materially affects the result, and the service portion. Compare the finished sample against the sensory target: Minty, bright, refreshing. If the formula includes White rum, Fresh lime juice, Simple syrup, Fresh mint, Soda water, verify that each product is the intended house specification; a substitution can change sugar, acidity, bitterness, aroma, alcohol strength or texture.
Sensory standard
The target is Minty, bright, refreshing. Evaluate the beverage at its intended serving temperature and dilution. The standard should be descriptive enough that two trained bartenders can compare results and identify which axis—sweetness, acidity, bitterness, alcohol, aroma, body, carbonation, temperature or dilution—is outside the house target.
Supporting professional reading
From the Keep ’Em Coming Back books
Behind the Bar
This page is a practical extension of Volume 4. The book explains the reasoning; this resource helps put it to work.
Rum & Cachaça · Highball
Mojito is a minty, bright, refreshing highball recipe. Use this page as a working specification, then test the exact brands, ice, glass, price, and service conditions before adopting it as a house drink.
Single-serve spec
• 2 oz (60 ml) White rum
• 1 oz (30 ml) Fresh lime juice
• 0.75 oz (22.5 ml) Simple syrup
• 8 leaf Fresh mint
• 2 oz (60 ml) Soda water
Method
• Gently muddle the fresh ingredients with the sweetener.
• Add the remaining ingredients and ice.
• Finish in a collins glass, garnish, and serve.
Shared testing and documentation controls: Bar recipe operating standard →
Recipe-specific working guide
How Mojito works in a real bar
Mojito is a minty, bright, refreshing highball built around rum & cachaça. This rewrite treats the listed specification as a working service standard: every measure, preparation choice, product, temperature, and finishing step must be tested together before the venue adopts it.
Ingredient functions
• 2 oz White rum carries the base profile and determines how firmly the drink reads through dilution. Treat the exact product as part of the specification rather than assuming every bottle in the category behaves identically.
• 1 oz Fresh lime juice sets the acidity and freshness. Juice age, fruit yield, storage temperature, and measuring accuracy all matter; a quarter-ounce swing can move the drink from focused to sharp or flat.
• 0.75 oz Simple syrup controls sweetness, texture, and the length of the finish. Confirm the house concentration before service; a rich syrup and a standard syrup are not interchangeable ounce for ounce.
• 8 leaf Fresh mint is a fresh-product control point. Size, ripeness, and handling change yield, so the house should specify preparation rather than relying on an unmeasured handful.
• 2 oz Soda water is the lengthening component. Cold product, fresh carbonation, and a clean final stir matter more than extra garnish when the goal is a crisp, fast-moving serve.
Technique and failure points
Mojito uses muddling to release fresh aroma and flavor before the drink is completed. Press only enough to express the ingredient; grinding herbs, peels, or fruit can add bitterness and create debris that slows service.
Failure laboratory
Version control
Do not silently change the working formula. Record the recipe version, date, reason for change, test result and person approving the update. If a brand or product specification changes, rerun the sensory and cost check before treating the substitution as equivalent. A formula is professional only when the team can reproduce the same intended result and explain why a revision was made.