I’ve been raving about aged rum. Well, this weekend I stopped at the Wine Gallery in Brookline and picked up a bottle of Ron Zacapa Centenario 15 year aged rum, a very fine and affordable ($28) Guatemalan spirit, then went to the trusty Hi-Lo market for a dozen limes, so I could give this excellent rum the simplest treatment possible. With a dash of simple syrup to round it out, I had what a friend had told me was the Cuban drink par excellence, the mojaga, which is basically the prototype of the daiquiri.

Mojaga

1 jiggers fine aged rum
1/2 lime, juice of and shell for garnish
1 good dash simple syrup

Pour liquid ingredients into an old fashioned or doubles glass. Stir, then fill with ice, and add spent lime shell

I can’t vouch for the authenticity of the mojaga in Havana new or old, but it’s a great drink, flavorful enough to satisfy those who want more than liquor on the rocks, but basic enough to let the quality of the rum to shine through. Obviously, you can cater to your preferences… more lime and sugar move it toward a daiquiri, less sugar make a minimalist rum and lime combination that many love.

Wine Gallery is located at 375 Boylston (Rt. 9), Brookline, near the Brookline Hills T stop.