Moscow Mule cocktail
Highball · Party · Summer

Moscow Mule

Vodka and lime topped with ginger beer, served in a copper mug that keeps it freezing. Crisp, spicy and hard to put down.

Base
Vodka
Glass
Copper mug
Method
Build
Strength
10.8% ABV

Ingredients

  • 45 mlSmirnoff Vodka1 swap
    Any neutral vodkahigh

    Little change

  • 120 mlGinger Beer
  • 10 mlFresh Lime Juice1 swap
    Fresh lemon juicemedium

    Slightly less floral, more tart

How to make

Technique
Build · 10–15s

Building straight in the glass keeps it simple and preserves any fizz.

  1. In an Mule Cup or rocks glass, combine the vodka and ginger beer.
  2. Add lime juice and gently stir to involve all ingredients.

Serve

Glass
Copper mugAlso fine: Highball glass, Collins glass
Garnish
Garnish with a lime slice.Perch it on the rim, or drop it in if you want the extra juice.

Taste & nutrition

10.8%ABV
220kcal
1.67Drinks
StrengthLight
Sweet to dryBalanced

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

  • Use freshly squeezed juice — bottled tastes flat.
  • Add the fizzy mixer last so it keeps its bubbles.

History

Year1941
PlaceLos Angeles, USA
Created byJohn Martin & Jack Morgan

The Moscow Mule — vodka, ginger beer and lime in a copper mug — was dreamed up around 1941 in Los Angeles to move slow-selling Smirnoff vodka and a friend's ginger beer. The pairing helped kick off America's vodka boom. The frosty copper mug became its trademark. Part of the Buck family, it is a crisp, spicy highball.

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