That's funny...I was just wondering what kind of mint would taste best in mojitos.

I have a couple of mint questions:

I have a mint plant that smells like mint, but also at
the same time smells "stinky." Do you have any idea what variety this might be?

2nd question: What's that mint-looking plant that, if
you rub the leaves and smell your fingers, it smells
very, very lemony? It looks like mint but I'm not
sure it is. Is it edible?

Thanks!

-Katy

Katy that sounds like Lemon Balm. It is related to mints and has a bit of a Pledge scent. I love it.

maybe the first one is catnip.

I actually just got some last week from Richter's. they're not big enough to take some for mojitos yet, but they do definitely taste different than your regular spearmint.

Finally had a big enough plant to harvest some and make some Mojitos. Not very impressed will go back to using my Curly Mint.

I have a potted key lime tree with peppermint at the base of it which I call my Mojito Planter!... I've tried Mojitos with chocolate mint, apple mint and pineapple mint and the peppermint is still the best, I think. But it's those Key Limes that make it a fabulous mojito.
Every year I sell my key lime trees on Ebay.

Couldn't the lemony smelling leaf, besides being lemon balm, also be a lemon mint? I think there is such a strain.

For Mojitos, I used either Kentucky Colonel mint which is a strong and sweet spearmint, or go to the other end of the spectrum and use my lime mint. Both are delicious in a Mojito.

The Richters mojito mint does not claim to be a flavored mint, I don't believe. If my memory serves me correctly (bought mine last year), it's a variety (heirloom?) brought back from Cuba-- so, perhaps used often in mojitos in the original home of the mojito, but not necessarily mojito flavored (nor necessarily the best to make a mojito). Personally, I like it a lot-- it's a good multipurpose mint, though perhaps not the best for mojitos, its name nonwithstanding.

Richter's mojito mint is listed as Mentha xvillosa-the other common name is applemint. The identification appears correct from the photo on their site. This mint is a hybrid, so all of them are the same no matter where the claimed origin. Some people claim that this is the best mint for mojitos but spearmint, M. spicata, is often substituted instead.

F. DeBaggio

Oh, ok, interesting. I have an applemint too, but it's quite different. Came from a different nursery, though-- lots of variations possible even within a hybrid, I suppose?

There is more than one mint that is commonly called applemint. Specimens of Mentha xvillosa have no variation, no matter where the origin. If there is, then one of them is mislabeled.
Another commonly grown applemint is basically a green form of pineapple mint M. suaveolens.
There is also a variegated form of M. arvensis (Golden Applemint) that can revert to all green and is sometimes sold as applemint as well. The three are easy enough to tell apart.

I haven't grown the Mojito mint so can't verify that it really is M. xvillosa-Richter's just claims it is on their web site and the picture appears to be that of M. xvillosa. In person it may be some other mint species or hybrid. If it has good qualities, enjoy it.

F. DeBaggio

That could be lemon verbena?

I have Mojito Mint. In the past, I managed to lose some I had ordered, so this time I'm trying to take better care of the two plants. I just happened to find them for sale at a local plant event...one of the people who were selling them said somebody brought some back from Mexico and they propagated them. I knew it was the right kind, because it looked and smelled just like the others I had before. I like it, but I suspect maybe it's easier to kill than spearmint. I love mojitos, with either spearmint or this other one.

i had bought a few plants from Richter's before and the sacrificed their necks in order to become some snifty drink flavourings.
The "stuff" you say smells lemony is indeed called "lemon balm".
it does make a pretty nice evening tea and can also be used for some alcoholic bevvies, much like the mint ina Mojito.
Careful now though; that plant is super invasive,
it will spread all over your garden in no time, if you let it