the perfect mojito

You're going to need silver rum. I used Bacardi. You'll also have to make some syrup.

two cups sugar. Eighty percent white sugar, twenty percent light brown. trust me.
two cups water.

put in a pan. bring almost to a boil, stir to combine, then add

zest of three limes
ounce and a half of  lime mint, mashed, twisted and chopped.(yes, I was hungover enough to forget the mint in a fucking mojito recipe)
five inches of cucumber, quartered and chopped (not smaller - these will turn into your garnish)
any other leafy green aromatics you like. I've heard cannabis trim works.

Let the syrup steep for half an hour, then strain. You're now ready to make mojitos.

There are two different kinds. One's the best version of a bar mojito you've ever had. The other is a more mature, sipping mojito. The third (i'm hung over) is a dragonfruitjito. It's more about the technique.

recipe one, in order

tall, narrow glass
three ice cubes
one shot syrup
one shot rum
Splash of Sprite.
wedge of syrup-candied cucumber

If you like fizz, shake before the Sprite, then stir lightly after. If you don't, shake after the Sprite. This is a candyjito - sweet, fruity, and easy-sippin'.

recipe two, in order

tall narrow glass
four cubes
one shot syrup
one shot rum
one shot syrup
one shot rum
generous squeeze of lime

Shake. Sip. Don't drink like th first one. This is stronger. It'll mellow and change as the ice melts.

Recipe three, in order

three cubes
one shot syrup
one shot rum
one shot syrup
one shot rum
squeeze of lime.
stir.
slow pour of dragonfruit vitamin water on the very top . this, done properly, creates a layer that'll survive walking around and sipping.
Garnish. by the time I drank this version, i was putting on two big chunks of candied cuke. nothing like a fun bite wtih your drink.

what's the nest step? watermelon juice instead of vitamin water. and seeing how many distinct layers i can pull off.

It makes enough syrup to make five candyjitos and at least five adult mojitos. 20 ounces of Sprite is barely enough for five sweeter versions. that many drinks equals most of a 750 mL bottle of Bacardi.

Substitutions? Sure. Poland Spring lime sparkling water instead of Sprite. Rim the glasses in syrup and then in crushed nerds or sweettarts. I haven't tried it with dark or spiced rum, but there are enough crazy flavors going on here. If you wanna be crazy, drink through hollowed sugarcane out of a pineapple shoved up your own ass, you fancy, fancy bastard.