The Moscow Mule for the Holidaze!
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I love the Moscow Mule and I love making variations. It’s a perfect vehicle for my various vodka infusion experiments. So I had some friends over last year around Thanksgiving and found this recipe online and it was a big hit. I seem to recall that I made them with rosemary infused vodka, which was delicious, but this year I used cranberry vodka I had made for cosmos. I also changed the recipe a bit by adding the orange and lime – believe it or not the original recipe left out the fucking lime juice! Totally stupid, since their are only 3 ingredients in the traditional Moscow Mule: vodka, ginger beer and FUCKING LIME! So don’t forget the lime unless you are experimenting and having fun.
½ oz. simple syrup (preferably lemon infused)
½ oz. unsweetened cranberry juice
½ fresh squeezed lime juice
½ fresh squeezed orange juice
2 oz. cranberry infused vodka (don’t be lazy – make your own)
2-4 oz. chilled ginger beer (I like Reed’s extra ginger)
1 rosemary sprig, for garnish
orange wheel, for garnish
1-2 cranberries (fresh or sugared), for garnish
Fill copper cups ¾ with crushed ice, Mix vodka with juices, pour into cups, fill to top with ginger beer, stir, add garnishes, serve.
To make sugared cranberry garnish, heat equal parts water and sugar (½ cup each is fine) over low heat until dissolved. Remove from heat before boiling, pour over equal part cranberries (½ cup in this case) and refrigerate overnight. Drain the cranberries the next day and let them dry a few minutes until tacky. Roll them in superfine sugar and let dry in a single layer for an hour or two. Store in freezer.