Fresh Mint
Mint used for flavour rather than for show, muddled or pressed to get the oils out of the leaf. Which mint matters more than most people realise: cocktails want spearmint, and peppermint will turn a Mojito medicinal.
Quick Facts
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Bright, cooling herbal flavour with clean green notes. When muddled correctly, mint contributes freshness without bitterness.
Recommended Brands
Budget Choice
Supermarket mint: fine, provided it is used the day it is bought
Premium Choice
Locally grown mint: picked and used the same day, with more oil left in the leaf
Storage & Handling
Stand the bunch in a glass of water like cut flowers, cover it loosely and refrigerate. It holds for several days that way and almost none loose in a bag. Strip out dark or wilted leaves rather than muddling them.
Shelf Life
3–5 days refrigerated with proper storage
Usage
Ten or twelve leaves in a Mojito and a generous handful in a Julep, pressed rather than pulverised. It also goes into syrups and infusions, where a short steep gives clean mint and a long one turns grassy and bitter.
Spearmint, Not Peppermint
There are two mints on a shop shelf and they are not interchangeable. Spearmint, Mentha spicata, is what nearly every mint cocktail was written for, and its dominant aromatic compound is carvone, which reads as sweet and green. Peppermint, a hybrid of spearmint and water mint, is dominated by menthol, which is cooling, sharp and closer to toothpaste. A Mojito built on peppermint tastes medicinal rather than fresh, and no amount of adjusting the sugar will repair it. Most mint sold loose in Britain is spearmint, but it is worth reading the label rather than assuming, particularly when buying a potted plant.
Pressing, Not Pulverising
The oils sit in glands on the surface of the leaf, and they come out under gentle pressure. Grinding does something different: it tears the cell walls and releases chlorophyll along with everything else, which tastes green in the worst sense, flat and faintly bitter. A few firm presses with a muddler is the whole technique. Stems are the other common mistake, because they are noticeably more bitter than the leaves and add nothing worth having, so strip the leaves before they go near the glass. Torn black flecks through a finished drink are the visible sign of having gone too far.
Syrups and Infusions
Mint keeps badly as a leaf and well as a syrup. Steeping leaves in warm sugar syrup for ten to fifteen minutes draws the oils out cleanly, while leaving them longer pulls the bitterness out with them, so the timer matters more than the quantity does. Blanching the leaves for a few seconds and shocking them in iced water before steeping holds the green colour, which otherwise turns a dull olive within a day. A mint syrup made this way keeps a week or two refrigerated and gives an even flavour that muddling never quite matches, which makes it useful for a batch.
Buying and Keeping
Buy it looking alive, with firm stems and leaves carrying no dark edges, because mint does not recover once it has properly wilted. Stand the bunch in a glass of water like cut flowers, cover it loosely and refrigerate it, and it holds for several days. A limp bunch will often revive for an hour in iced water, which is enough for a round of drinks and not enough to plan around. Growing it is easy to the point of nuisance, since mint spreads aggressively and is better kept in a pot than let into a bed.
Pro Tip
Mint should taste fresh and green: bitterness is a sign of over-handling.
Top Tips
- Check you are buying spearmint. Peppermint is the wrong plant and turns a Mojito medicinal.
- Press the leaves, do not grind them. Torn mint releases chlorophyll and tastes flat and bitter.
- Strip the stems out. They are more bitter than the leaves and contribute nothing at all.
Possible Substitutions
- Mint syrup (adds sweetness)
- Basil (different herbal profile)
- Lemon balm (milder, citrusy note)
Production Method
Mint leaves are harvested fresh and prepared by removing stems and selecting intact leaves for use. No processing beyond washing and trimming.
History & Context
Mint has been used for centuries in food and drink for its refreshing and cooling properties. In cocktails, it plays a central role in classics such as the Mojito and Mint Julep.
Common Questions
Why slap mint instead of muddling it hard?
Because the two do different jobs. A slap wakes the aroma on a garnish without breaking the leaf. Muddling is for extraction and belongs in the drink, and even then it wants pressure rather than force, since grinding releases chlorophyll and turns the flavour flat.
How do you keep mint fresh?
Stand it in water like cut flowers, cover it loosely and refrigerate. It holds for several days that way and almost none loose in a bag. A limp bunch revives for about an hour in iced water, which covers a round of drinks but is not something to plan a service around.
How much mint does a mojito need?
Ten or twelve leaves, stripped from the stem and pressed rather than ground. More than that does not make the drink mintier, it makes it bitter, because the extra leaves get torn in the muddling rather than pressed. A Julep is the exception and takes a handful.
Does the mint variety matter?
A great deal. Spearmint is what the recipes assume and reads sweet and green, while peppermint is menthol-led, cooling and closer to toothpaste. It will dominate a drink built for the other one. Check before buying, and especially before planting, since potted mint is often peppermint.