Moscow Mule Cocktail Recipe
Vodka, spicy ginger beer and lime, served ice-cold in a copper mug.
- Category: Contemporary Classics
- Glass: Copper mug
- ABV: 12%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Vodka45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Fresh lime juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Ginger beer120 ml (4.1 oz)
How to Make It
- Fill a copper mug with ice.
- Add vodka and lime juice.
- Top with ginger beer.
- Stir gently and garnish with lime.
Garnish
Lime wedge
What it tastes like
There is a spiced warmth to it and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A copper mug. Copper moves heat fast, so the mug chills quicker than the drink inside it and stays ice-cold in the hand — which is why mules are served in one.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Vodka
- Vodka brings body and alcohol rather than flavour; its job is to get out of the way of everything else. Which is why, in a vodka drink, how fresh the juice is matters far more than the brand.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
- Ginger beer
- Ginger beer is non-alcoholic despite the name, which comes from an old fermentation tradition. It is far sharper than ginger ale, and ale does not replace it in a mule.
The Story
Invented in 1941 in Los Angeles to popularise both vodka and ginger beer.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Moscow Mule mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a copper mug.
- How strong is a Moscow Mule?
- Roughly 12% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Moscow Mule be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Moscow Mule hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.