Introduced to the Moscow Mule

WOW oh WOW! What a fun drink. I have heard of them before and have shown interest but never tried one, so for Christmas my wife bought some copper mugs from bed bath and beyond, she also went to the local liquor store and got me some Crabbie's ginger beer. Mixed me up a moscow mule and it was delicious! I hate to admit this but all we had on hand was Barton's vodka.

So I want to know how do you make your mule? What ginger beer do you use? I have heard some people use non-alcoholic ginger beer do you? Why? What vodka do you recommend? How do you garnish?

While doing some research I also read about a Tennessee Mule(replace vodka with bourbon) and a Mexican Mule (Replace vodka with Tequila) Have any of you tried these?

So now I finally have a favorite cocktail... I tend to only drink Beer or Whiskey.

We started dabbling in them last year.

Generally we use either Gosling's Ginger Beer or Goose Island Spicy Ginger (both non-alcoholic). As for Vodka, whatever we have on hand. Right now we have a bottle of Pinnacle we're working through, as well as a bottle of Tito's (generally save the Titos for martinis).

Don't have any copper cups on hand yet, but that's the plan.

There's an interesting story to the copper cups .... when you have a moment, google it

We mixed some over Christmas with my daughter and her fiancé. Very tasty!

Try them with gin instead of the vodka, too. You'll never go back.

I had something called a Kentucky Mule once. It was, I'm sure, the same as your Tennessee Mule. It was not, however, served in a copper mug, and was garnished with a lime.

I also heard a story about a couple of country music stars who ran into each other at Kroger. Apparently one was looking to get some ginger beer, and left his money at home. The other guy was behind him in line and spotted him the cash. The story was "hashtagged" "moonshine mule". I'll have to try this at some point as well. Though I tend to just use ginger ale as it is less costly.

Mix Ginger Beer with Dark Rum and Lime for a Dark & Stormy!

Very delicious in the summer!

My Ginger Beer of choice is non-alcoholic Bundaberg.

One of my favorite summer time drinks.

gaj90027 said:

Mix Ginger Beer with Dark Rum and Lime for a Dark & Stormy!

Very delicious in the summer!

My Ginger Beer of choice is non-alcoholic Bundaberg.

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+1. Try to find Gosling's Black Seal Rum for this drink. It's wonderful!!

eezee said:

+1. Try to find Gosling's Black Seal Rum for this drink. It's wonderful!!

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+1 Goslings, Meyers and other really dark rums are disgusting sippers but wonderful mixers. Love a Dark & Stormy if made with a quality ginger beer with a good bit of "bite".

kentucky thoroughbred with rye

OldAF said:

+1 Goslings, Meyers and other really dark rums are disgusting sippers but wonderful mixers. Love a Dark & Stormy if made with a quality ginger beer with a good bit of "bite".

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I agree.

The key is to find a really good Ginger BEER. Most stuff marketed as ginger beer is really just soda. Real ginger beer gives a better complexity of flavor and a better bite IMO. Unfortunately its pretty hard to find the real thing here in NC (and previously in SC). Beer stores tend not to carry it since its not really a beer. Liquor stores have to be separate from beer stores, and have some very specific rules about what they can sell. They tend not to sell these specialty things either. I know SC liquor stores couldn't sell any mixers since they are considered food products.

My father in law got into Moscow Mules, and another interesting variation - the Mezcal Mule, this summer. He ended up with a collection of different ginger beers. Fever Tree, and all kinds of stuff I've never seen. Most was just soda, albeit pretty good stuff. I actually started looking into brewing my own. I homebrew beer, cider and kombucha, so I don't think it would be too hard.

Homebrewer here too .. .and brewing my own ginger beer sounds like an amazing idea. I'm in the beginning stages of a keezer project and I wonder if I could have ginger beer on tap??? I've also thought about making homemade (non-alcoholic) rootbeer on tap for the kids. Hmmm ....

Goslings is the best. I even like their diet Ginger Beer. Make mine with 2 oz booze, 0.5 oz lemon juice from concentrate, and top off with ginger beer. Of course the mug/glass is stuffed full of ice.

Really like a Kentucky Mule as well, use Wild Turkey for that one. Luksosowa Vodka is our all around mixing vodka. Wife drinks Ketel One when she is drinking on ice or martini.

I go traditional. **** and Bull ginger beer, Smirnoff' s vodka, fresh squeezed lime juice, garnish with a lime wedge. And a copper mug is mandatory. These are the original elements of the cocktail. And it introduced vodka to the U.S.

Try Fever Tree Ginger Beer. Non alcoholic, but I like it more than Crabbie's or Goslings (also non alcoholic). I think it has less sugar and a little more ginger "pop". Some grocery stores carry it (Kroger in my area) and a lot of liquor stores.

I like my Mules in the copper cups with either vodka (Tito's from Austin, Tx) is very good or with El Dorado 12 year rum. I use a slice of rum in either version.

I was at Trader Joe's over the weekend and picked up there brand of Ginger Beer. Finally made a moscow mule with it yesterday and it was delicious!

I also tried the Q brand and I did not like that.

jjking54 said:

Homebrewer here too .. .and brewing my own ginger beer sounds like an amazing idea. I'm in the beginning stages of a keezer project and I wonder if I could have ginger beer on tap??? I've also thought about making homemade (non-alcoholic) rootbeer on tap for the kids. Hmmm ....

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I make my own ginger beer. I use the yeast method and it only takes 48 hours.


1 ounce ginger juice
2 ounces fresh lemon juice, finely strained
3 ounces simple syrup
10 ounces warm water (cold if using the soda siphon)
Mix ingredients together. If using a soda siphon, pour ingredients into canister, screw on lid, charge with CO2, shake once, and refrigerate. You’re done.

The first thing on your list if you’re going to be brewing in the bottle is any number of 16-ounce “EZ” flip-top bottles. You can find these on the internet, at a craft store, or at any homebrewing supply place. Pick up a few to start.
Next, find some wine yeast. I use Red Star Premier Cuvee champagne yeast. It’s sturdy, it hasn’t failed me yet, and it’s inexpensive. I pay about a buck for a packet that will make five gallons of this stuff.

Okay, on to making the actual ginger beer.
The only tricky piece of equipment I’m going to suggest is a juice extractor. Pick up the Juiceman Juice Extractor if you’re just going to be making this stuff at home, or the Breville Juicer if you plan on making a lot of it. Sure, you can use a grater, but you’re going to need to fine-strain your grated ginger to avoid any chunks in the final product. For the occasional home user, a Microplaner and some cheesecloth will be fine. But when making this by the case at work, I always turn to my juice extractor. The money is worth it if you want to make a lot of this stuff.
Peel and juice your ginger. I find that 1½ ounces of fresh ginger tends to work out to roughly an ounce of ginger juice.
This base recipe will make one 16-ounce bottle of ginger beer, so multiply the proportions by the number of bottles you will be using. If you’re going the siphon route, note that the canister will hold 32 ounces of ginger beer. So double the batch, duh.

If you’re using bottles, fill each bottle with 16 ounces of your mixture and add roughly 1/16 tsp (some measures it is a pinch) champagne yeast. Seal the cap securely, shake well, and store for 48 hours – no more, no less – in a warm, dark place. After 48 hours have passed, refrigerate immediately to halt the process.
After your bottled ginger beer is well chilled, mix up a Dark and Stormy, sit back, and imagine you’re drifting along with me on that creaky little boat.

[FONT=&quot]Jeffrey Morgenthaler [/FONT]Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Alanna Hale and Martha Holmberg (Jun 3, 2014)

dklaiman said:

Try them with gin instead of the vodka, too. You'll never go back.

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+100. Gin buck with a slice of lemon is my all-time favorite summer drink.

This was my shift drink every night for six months a few years back.