Sake Mojito

When we talk about cultural crossovers, it is hard to imagine that revolutionary Cuba and imperial Japan can have any genuine amalgamation. However, there appears to exist a cocktail that encapsulates Cuba’s tropic fun fiesta in an ironically ‘modern’ twist involving Japan’s illustrious past. The Sake Mojito is a cosmopolitan cocktail of the 21st century, on an increasing trajectory of popularity across global bars and pubs. Made with the traditional Japanese rice wine Sake, sugar cane juice or sugar syrup, lime juice, soda, and mint leaves, the Sake Mojito is a perfect summer accompaniment with low alcohol content and unlike other aperitifs, is delightfully sweet to taste.

It is uncertain as to when and how the first Sake Mojito was conjured, but the drink’s widespread fame in Japan can certainly be credited to the Tokyo Record Bar, known for experimenting with Sake cocktails. The beverage is created by replacing the traditional white rum in Mojitos with the Japanese alcohol that results in a flavour note unlike any other Mojito variation.

The traditional Mojito dates back to Havana in the 1500s, where a tonic made from Aguardiente de Cana (sugarcane alcohol), mint leaves and lime juice was a local favourite. While some presume this drink to be the precursor of the modern Mojito, others believe that the drink was a brainchild of African slaves working in the sugarcane plantations of Cuba during the period. The word "mojito", however, is believed to have been derived from the Spanish word "mojadito" meaning ‘a little wet’, or the Cuban lime-based seasoning mojo.

Since its popularisation, Mojito finds an unprecedented number of representations in diverse global cuisines, making the creation of the Sake Mojito an imminent development. Though the manufacture of Sake began post the introduction of wet rice cultivation in Japan in the 3rd century BCE, it was primarily reserved for the imperial court and the temple shrines.

It was only in the 12th century CE that Sake became a common household delight and much later in the 20th century that the versatile Sake started to be implemented in cocktails. As the story goes, post World War II, Japan was suffering from severe rice shortages and poor produce. To mask and embellish the unsatisfactory Sake obtained from the inferior quality rice, Sake aficionados started mixing it with other drinks and juices, resulting in sake cocktails and possibly Sake Mojito.