Cheap Buzz: Mo' mojitos, please

 B UZZ: My buddy knows I love Mexican food, and yesterday he offered to buy me a mojito. When I told him I wasn't hungry, he just laughed at me.

Marnie: Mojitos are rum-based cocktails, Buzz. They are delicious and refreshing quenchers in hot summer weather. They are made with white rum, fresh mint, lime and seltzer.

Buzz: Mint and lime? Sounds like a toothpaste flavor. Why would Mexicans do that?

Marnie: The effect is quite nice actually - cooling and tingly. And the drink is originally from Cuba, not Mexico. It has been growing more and more popular in the U.S. for years now.

Buzz: Wow. I thought there was an embargo or something. Reagan must be turning in his grave.

Marnie: Many popular cocktails, like daiquiris, began as Cuban confections back in the days before the embargo. Cuba was a vacation hot spot where the rum flowed freely. And, of course, with the revolution the drinks turned political - we got the "Cuba Libre," or rum and coke.

Buzz: Sounds too radical for me.

Marnie: Of the classic Cuban drinks, the mojito was slow to catch on internationally, partly because it requires a bar to have fresh mint on hand.

Mint leaves wilt easily, so they're a pain to maintain, but the sheer deliciousness of the mojito has prompted many American bars to stock this fresh herb. The other reason for the lag was that bartenders need some elbow grease to muddle mojitos properly.

Buzz: Why would I want my bartender to confuse my drink?

Marnie: No, no, no. Muddling is a bartending term for crushing with a "muddler," or wooden rod. To make a mojito, the mint must be thoroughly smashed with sugar and lime juice. The mixture gets topped with ice, rum and seltzer water in a tall highball glass.

Buzz: OK, Marnie, I'll give this Cuban concoction a try. Vive la revolucion!

Marnie Old is Philadelphia's highest-profile sommelier. Her latest book, Wine Simplified, is a crash course for the wine-curious for the iPad and iPhone, available via the iTunes App Store. Marnie consults for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and is an adviser to the beverage trade. For more: marnieold.com. Buzz's musings are interpreted by Daily News Assistant Managing Editor Gar Joseph.