The Southside is, in effect, a Mojito made with gin and served up. Gin, lime, sugar, and mint are shaken hard and strained into a coupe — no soda, no ice in the glass — for a crisp, bracing, elegant cousin of the Cuban classic.
The Mojito, gone to a dinner party.
A Drink With Disputed Roots
The Southside's history is tangled and well-disputed: claimed by Chicago's South Side, by a Long Island country club, and by New York's 21 Club during Prohibition, where it was reputedly used to make rough gin palatable. The truth is lost; the drink survived.
Mojito or Gimlet
The Southside sits between two families. Drop the mint and it is a Gimlet; lengthen it with soda over ice and it is very nearly a gin Mojito. Served up, with mint, it is its own crisp, aromatic thing.
Shake It Hard
Unlike the built Mojito, the Southside is shaken — hard, with plenty of ice — to chill it thoroughly and bruise the mint just enough. A fine strain keeps stray mint flecks out of the finished coupe.
The Mojito Family
The classic — white rum, lime, sugar, and muddled mint, lengthened with soda over ice.
- 2 ozWhite rum
- 1 ozLime juice
- 1/2 ozSimple syrup
The Mojito with muddled strawberries — fruit-sweet and summer-pink.
- 2 ozWhite rum
- 1 ozLime juice
- 3Strawberries
The Mojito gone dark — aged rum and demerara sugar, deeper and richer.
- 2 ozAged rum
- 1 ozLime juice
- 1/2 ozDemerara syrup