Hailing from Havanna, Cuba, the exact origins of the Mojito are lost in time. The most popular theory is that European sailors, newly arrived in Havanna, heard that the local indigenous people knew how to make effective medicines. A boarding party was organized, who went ashore and came back with limes (which were squeezed to provide lime juice), sugar cane, mint, and a strong, locally made, sugarcane-based spirit (a potent version of rum). For sailors suffering from scurvy (a disease caused by lack of Vitamin C), the lime juice and mint would certainly have had medicinal qualities. The four ingredients (lime juice, sugar cane, mint, and rum) subsequently formed the basis of the much-loved Mojito.