Stygian Mojito

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The Stygian Mojito is a Mojito that has gone over to the dark side. White rum is replaced by a pairing of blackstrap black rum and aged Angostura rum, fresh mint is swapped for the bittersweet mint liqueur Branca Menta, and plain sugar becomes demerara syrup. The lime and soda stay, so it is still tall, cold and fizzy, but it is dark as the river Styx and tastes of molasses, menthol and bitter herbs. It is the Mojito for people who think the original is a little too polite.

What Is a Stygian Mojito?

The drink follows the Mojito template exactly: rum, lime, sweetener, mint and soda. What changes is the character of each part. An ounce of Cruzan Black Strap brings heavy molasses; an ounce of Angostura 1919 adds vanilla and oak; an ounce of Branca Menta supplies the mint along with a cooling, slightly bitter amaro backbone; and half an ounce of demerara syrup adds caramel richness. A full ounce of lime keeps it sharp, and soda lengthens it. PUNCH developed it as part of a series on winterizing summer cocktails, and it is one of the most successful examples of that idea.

Origin and History

The Mojito traces back to Havana and, in legend, to the sixteenth-century Drake sailors' remedy called El Draque, made with aguardiente, lime, sugar and mint. The Stygian Mojito is much younger, a creation of the PUNCH editorial team in New York. The word Stygian refers to the Styx, the black river of the Greek underworld, and describes both the color of the drink and its brooding flavor. Its use of Branca Menta as a mint substitute follows a broader trend of using amaro in place of fresh herbs, seen in drinks like the Hanky Panky, where Fernet-Branca does the aromatic heavy lifting.

Flavor Profile and What to Expect

The first impression is cold mint, sharp and mentholated, with the soda carrying it up the nose. Then the two rums arrive: molasses and burnt sugar from the blackstrap, vanilla and dried fruit from the aged rum. The demerara syrup rounds everything out and the lime keeps it from turning heavy. The Branca Menta leaves a lingering bitter-herbal finish that a fresh-mint Mojito never has. It is stronger than a classic Mojito, closer in weight to a Dark and Stormy, and its bitterness places it in the same family as the Jungle Bird.

Choosing the Rums

Cruzan Black Strap is the benchmark blackstrap and gives the drink its color and depth. For the aged rum, Angostura 1919 is soft and vanilla-rich; Mount Gay Black Barrel, Appleton 8 or Plantation 5 all work. If you only have one black rum, use two ounces of it and add a dash of Angostura bitters for the missing oak note. See our rum cocktail guide for more on aged and blackstrap styles.

About Branca Menta

Branca Menta is the peppermint-infused sibling of Fernet-Branca, sweeter and less medicinal but still deeply herbal. It is the key to the drink and there is no exact substitute. Fernet-Branca with a teaspoon of mint syrup gets close; crème de menthe does not, because it lacks the bitterness that balances the rums.

Popular Variations

Muddle a few fresh mint leaves in the shaker for a brighter, greener aroma alongside the liqueur. Replace the soda with ginger beer for a drink halfway to a mule. Serve it short, without soda, over crushed ice as a swizzle. Use only blackstrap rum and increase the lime for a sharper, more savory version. For a spiced take, swap the demerara syrup for falernum, in the manner of the Spiced Rum Mojito. PUNCH's companion Winter Mojito takes the same idea in a rosemary direction.

How to Serve It

Shake everything except the soda, strain over fresh cubed ice in a Collins glass, top with soda and garnish with a slapped mint sprig. Do not overfill with soda; an ounce or so is enough. Good clear ice keeps it cold without going watery; our ice guide has tips.

Batching for a Party

For eight drinks, combine 8 ounces each of blackstrap rum, aged rum and Branca Menta with 4 ounces of demerara syrup and 8 ounces of fresh lime juice in a pitcher. Keep it refrigerated, shake or stir individual portions with ice, and top each glass with soda and a mint sprig. The lime is best squeezed the same day.

Food Pairings

The Stygian Mojito's bitter mint and molasses work with dark chocolate desserts, coffee-rubbed steak, blue cheese and spiced nuts. It is also surprisingly good with Vietnamese and Thai dishes that use fresh herbs and lime.

When to Drink It

This is a cold-weather highball, ideal for a holiday party or a late night in a dark bar, though it works in any season for people who like bitter drinks. It pairs with dark chocolate, spiced nuts, blue cheese and grilled meats. Browse more winter and bitter cocktails in our drink categories.

Why People Love It

It is refreshing and brooding at the same time, which almost no other drink manages. It takes a summer icon and makes it feel right in December, it puts blackstrap rum in a tall glass where it rarely appears, and it gives amaro lovers a highball of their own. Once you have had a Stygian Mojito, a regular one can seem a little pale.