Classic Moscow Mule

This Moscow Mule is a classic 3-ingredient blend of vodka, fresh lime juice and ginger beer. Serve in copper mugs for a wonderfully cold refreshing drink.

Making a Moscow Mule is really simple. You don’t even need a cocktail shaker!

It’s a deliciously refreshing 3-ingredient recipe that you pour over ice, stir and serve. So as long as you have the ingredients on hand, plus ice and ideally, some copper mugs, you’re ready to go.

Also check out our delicious white sangria, red sangria and homemade Irish cream recipes.

How To Make A Moscow Mule

Full instructions and measurements can always be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

• Add ice to a copper mug, filling it to the top. Pour over vodka followed by freshly squeezed lime juice and then ginger beer. Stir.
• Garnish with a wedge of lime and some fresh mint leaves.
• Serve and enjoy!

What Kind of Vodka to Use in a Moscow Mule

As long as it’s a good quality vodka, any brand will do! Use your favorite. We used Absolut Vodka as that’s our personal fave.

Why Does It Have To Be Served In A Copper Mug?

Truthfully, it doesn’t have to be. A glass is just fine too. But the purpose of the copper mug is to keep the drink really cold and this is a drink that is supposed to be really really cold and crisp. The copper mugs are even called ‘Moscow Mule Copper Mugs’. I mean! You just gotta get some right?

What Kind Of Ginger Beer To Use

So there are a lot of strong opinions about the best ginger beer to use in a Moscow Mule. A brand that is commonly recommended to use is Fever Tree (available on Amazon). And if you really want to dig into the topic then The Spruce Eats have an article on the top 10 Ginger Beers for Moscow Mules. The Fever Tree brand is on their list.

But without being too snobby about it, you can really just use any ginger beer that you like the taste of! We have a brand of ginger beer in South Africa called Stoney. It’s what we used in these drinks and frankly it was delicious!

Recipe Tips

The classic recipe uses very specific amounts of ingredients to create the perfect blend of flavors in this drink. The crucial aspects are:

• Use a good quality vodka
• Use freshly squeezed lime juice (not bottled, it makes a difference!)
• Use a ginger beer that you like the taste of.

And then there’s my personal favorite tip, which is, if you don’t like strong drinks, then add more ginger beer than called for in this recipe. You are totally fine to top it up and keep topping up with ginger beer if you’re more of a lightweight.

This drink is quite strong as is, so don’t feel bad to dilute it with more ginger beer if that’s how you roll.