While getting ready for a party, I decided to list a handful of necessary drinks and then acquire the necessary ingredients just for those drinks. The Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster was a given, of course. Among the other three, the mojito is the best choice for a refreshing summer drink.

Use good limes, good mint, and good rum and you’ll end up with an extraordinarily good mix. The two limes used per drink should provide you with two ounces (two shots) of lime juice.

The hardest part of this drink is crushing the mint leaves. You don’t need to work too hard on it: what you want to do is bruise them enough to release their flavor more quickly. If you have a pestle, from a mortar and pestle, you can use it right in the glass. I’ve also used a mortar and ball-pestle to crush the leaves in the mortar, and then transfer them to the glass. If you have a cocktail set, the can opener or some other tool might have a thick handle perfect for crushing the lime.

For extra presentation, you can add another slice of lime to the glass.

I use less rum than most recipes call for, but if you want a more traditional version add two shots instead of one. You can, of course, vary the amount of sugar as well. You can even make this without any alcohol. Just add a touch more sugar and you’ll have a mint and lime soft drink for whoever needs to drive home.