The most basic version of a mojito has a few simple ingredients — lime juice, mint leaves, sugar, club soda, and rum — with light rum being the best booze to use for this cocktail.

While dark rums add depth and complexity to cocktails like mai tais, mojitos call for light rum's clean, subtle flavor profile that allows its other ingredients to shine through.

Produced in modernized column stills, light rums can age in barrels or steel tanks for one to four years. Due to filtration, they lack the rich, oaky taste of the darker rums.

The simple and smooth flavor offered by a light rum perfectly complements a mojito's sweet, sour, and minty components, making it ideal for the cocktail.

You can add a touch of culture and history to this timeless Cuban cocktail by opting for light Cuban rums, which offer a gentler flavor profile.