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When a group of 20-something women recently ordered a round of mojitos at Upper East Side sports bar Sin Bin, they were surprised at the response.
Bartender Krystal Campbell said the bar didn’t have mint. “[Mojitos] are messy, they’re time-consuming and we don’t have the ingredients,” Campbell says. The request was rejected.
Instead, the women ordered margaritas. Not a comparable alternative, but a preferable one for New York bartenders revolting against the mojito masses.
This summer, those behind the bar are taking a stand by deleting the cocktail — made with rum, muddled mint, sugar and lime juice — from the menu, or refusing to make it. The reason is twofold: The drink is simply too time-consuming to make, while at labor-intensive cocktail bars, it’s been deemed out of fashion.
“The [mojito] has always been the bane of bartenders, as it is a time-consuming drink to prepare well,” explains cocktail guru Eben Freeman, director of bar operations for chef Michael White’s Altamarea Group.
It’s a matter of basic economics, says Freddy Thomas, 41, a bartender at a bustling downtown spot where groups of tourists and high-heeled young women often order the drink en masse, much to his chagrin.
“Time is money. You can make six or seven other drinks in the same time [it takes to] make three mojitos,” he says.
Another issue: Once one person is seen with a mojito, others are inspired to order it. “It’s like a disease,” says Thomas.
Bartenders call it the ultimate “panic order” — the first drink a rookie customer is liable to blurt out upon locking eyes with the bartender. Intimidated middle-age men are the most likely to panic-order a mojito at Uncorked, an intimate, candlelit bar on East 59th Street, says bartender Paul Murock. “They don’t get what we are, and they’ve heard of the mojito,” he explains. Never mind that the wine bar doesn’t stock booze.
To combat mojito malaise, bartenders have devised covert tactics — such as pretending they’re out of a key ingredient — to stop you from ordering one. “If it’s between midnight and 4 a.m., every bar is out of mint,” winks Sunny Miller, 28, a bartender at the LES’s Hotel Chantelle.
Another strategy is to direct customers to another drink. “A bartender will probably make two rounds, then they’ll maybe say, ‘Hey, folks, how about a gin and tonic?’ ” says Frank Caiafa, manager at the Vault at Pfaff’s in the West Village.
Meanwhile, STK in the Meatpacking District offers the $16 “nojito.” “We ‘punish’ the mint,” says general manager Sherwin Levitis. “It’s slapping, not muddling, which is much faster.” (For purists, mojito pitchers are available, since batches are more efficient to churn out.)
Unfortunately for Thomas, the integral herb is stocked at the slightly more upscale place where he tends bar (which he declines to name for fear of a backlash from mojito lovers). With a sigh, he’ll grab some fresh mint and start muddling. Bartenders across the city echo his exasperation.
“I’ve been bartending for years, and obviously hate making mojitos,” says Miller. It’s not just its intensive preparation that inspires mojito hatred. Like Carrie Bradshaw’s cosmo before it, the cocktail is a victim of its own pop-culture popularity. Though it originated in 1930s Cuba, the drink experienced a resurgence after James Bond ordered one in 2002’s “Die Another Day.” It surged again with 2006’s “Miami Vice,” according to PDT owner Jim Meehan — and it never really went away.
“Familiarity is comfortable, like staying in a relationship even though you fight every day,” explains Jan Warren, head bartender at Dutch Kills in Long Island City, Queens.
And it’s familiarity that has led trendsetters to deem the mojito passé. “When I first started going to bars and didn’t know what I was doing, I went for sweet drinks like mojitos,” admits Megan Kernan, 28, who recently drank pinot grigio at the Penrose. “Now I know my preference.”
Which is why you shouldn’t be surprised if you get an eye roll the next time you order it.
“You see it on customers’ faces,” says Dan Sabo, beverage director at Greenpoint’s popular Five Leaves. “[Like,] really? Look at this guy.”
“A regular,” he adds, “would never order a mojito.”
Get out of your mojito rut with these five alternatives!
The Writer’s Vice
For a grown-up drink with a light, mojito-like touch, Hotel Chantelle bartender Sunny Miller recommends this cocktail made with muddled basil, lemon, orange, bitters and two kinds of Jack Daniel’s (regular and honey). $14 at Hotel Chantelle, 92 Ludlow St.; 212-254-9100
Southern Belle
This mix of sweet-tea vodka, sparkling wine, lemon and mint offers all the draws of the mojito — namely, citrus, minty freshness and fizz. “The sparkle comes from wine rather than soda water, so it keeps the proof up rather than watering the drink down,” says Five Leaves beverage director Dan Sabo. $11 at Five Leaves, 18 Bedford Ave., Greenpoint; 718-383-5345
Brancolada
Donna owner-bartender Leif Huckman recommends this cocktail — a member of the Tiki drink family — as a mojito substitute. It’s essentially a pina colada made with Branca Menta, a minty, herbaceous amaro liqueur garnished with fresh mint. $10 at Donna, 27
Bronx Park Swizzle
Dutch Kills bartender Jan Warren steers customers to the Bronx Park Swizzle, which is served in a tall collins glass. Instead of rum, however, the base liquor is gin, with lemon juice instead of lime, and peach liqueur and honey replacing sugar. There’s still ample mint, though. $11 at Dutch Kills, 27-24 Jackson Ave., Long Island City; 718-383-2724
The Sunburn
Named for the pink hue that follows an afternoon of enjoying this cocktail, the drink has the DNA of a mojito, says PDT’s Jim Meehan. A mix of pisco and rose wine, it also features grapefruit and lemon juice, muddled tarragon and cane syrup. $15 at PDT, 113 St. Marks Place; 212-614-0386