If they understood the meaning of the name itself—mojito—testy New York City bartenders might think twice about removing the popular Cuban cocktail from their menus, as some have recently done. The word mojito is derived from the African mojo, which means “to cast a little spell.” As in the kind of Cuban voodoo incantation known to unleash copious amounts of bad luck on otherwise successful establishments. Or people. Or testy bartenders.
Caribbean sorcery aside, various Manhattan mixologists nevertheless declared war this summer on the hand-muddled concoction, refusing to make the famously refreshing cocktail because, they claim, it’s too time-consuming, too labor-intensive. They’ve even suggested the mojito is passé, breathlessly pronouncing this week to the New York Post that it’s the city’s “most reviled drink” and confessing they trick customers into ordering something—anything!—else.
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