Mojito Cocktail

This drink was invented in Cuba, although exactly where and when in Cuba is disputed, but "possibly" as long ago as the second half of the 1500s. A couple of these and I was speaking Spanish to my neighbors, who are Spanish and English speakers from Puerto Rico. The problem is, I don't speak Spanish, and what's worse, they seemed to understand me! Hm, if I drink Stoli vodka, maybe I'll be able to speak Russian so I can tell Vladimir Putin, "You're a no good pile of horse dung."  

Ingredients:

2 ounces white rum
juice of 4 lime wedges
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, to your preferred taste
10 mint leaves
club soda to fill
ice

I used a tall glass, but you can certainly use a smaller glass and adjust the amount of the ingredients. If you prefer not to have the ice cubes in the glass, you can use a shaker and strain the cocktail into a glass. Rinse and dry the lime before cutting into wedges. Squeeze the juice from the lime wedges and then mix in the sugar. Rub the mint leaves a bit in your hand to help them release their essence and add them to the lime/sugar mixture. Add the rum, stir briefly and add the ice then fill the remaining glass space with club soda. Mix in the squeezed lime wedges. You can garnish with lime and/or a sprig of mint. 

WORD HISTORY:
Poncho-This word for a "type of cloak that slips over the head" goes back to Araucanian^ "pontho," which meant, "cloth/cloak made of wool." This was borrowed by Spanish as "poncho," which was then borrowed by English in the early 1700s. By the mid 1800s, American English added the meaning, "waterproof garment slipped over the head." 

^  "Araucanian" is an Amerindian language family of South America, primarily in Chile.