Mojito local tropical ingredients: lime, sugarcane juice, and mint. Lime juice on its own would have significantly prevented scurvy and dysentery, and tafia/rum was soon added as it became widely available to the British (ca. 1650). Mint, lime and sugar were also helpful in hiding the harsh taste of this spirit. While this drink was not called a Mojito at this time, it was the original combination of these ingredients. Some historians contend that African slaves who worked in the Cuban sugar cane fields during the 19th century were instrumental in the cocktail's origin. Guarapo, the sugar cane juice often used
Cuban sugar economy Cuban sugar economy The Cuban sugar economy is the principal agricultural economy in Cuba. Historically, the Cuban economy relied heavily on sugar exports, but sugar production has declined since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 2015, raw sugar accounted for $378 million of Cuba's $1.4 billion exports. Spain began growing sugarcane in Cuba in 1523, but it was not until the 18th century that Cuba became a prosperous sugar-producing colony. In 1791, The Haitian Revolution influenced Cuban planters to demand the free importation of slaves and the easing of trade relations in an effort to replace Haiti