Cranberry Moscow Mule

This Cranberry Moscow Mule is a tart spin on the classic, ideal for fall and winter entertaining! It’s refreshing and easy to make.

When it comes to entertaining, the Moscow Mule is pretty ideal. It’s tangy and refreshing, easy to make right into the mug, and everyone always loves it. So get ready for the best new fruity spin: the Cranberry Moscow Mule! This drink has loads of sweet tart flavor, balancing crisp cranberry with tangy lime and spicy ginger. Sip it out of an ice cold copper mug, and it’s ideal for fall and winter entertaining.

Ingredients in a cranberry Moscow mule

The classic Moscow Mule is one of the greatest cocktails of all time, a combination of vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer. Invented in the 1940’s, it’s gone on to be a smash hit that’s just as popular today. This fall and winter spin on it adds cranberry juice for a tart berry flavor. It’s hard to get the balance just right when adding juice to a mule, but tinkered with this recipe to get it nailed. The ingredients you’ll need for a cranberry Moscow mule are:

• Vodka
• Lime juice
• Ginger beer
• 100% all natural cranberry juice (no sugar added)

Use 100% cranberry juice if you can find it

For all our cranberry cocktail recipes, we prefer using 100% all natural cranberry juice. What’s the difference and why does it matter? Here’s what to know:

• 100% all natural cranberry juice is all juice, instead of sweetened like bottles labeled “cranberry juice” or “cranberry juice cocktail.” This gives it a pure, tart flavor and a dark red color. It’s preferable because then you can add sweetness to the drink to taste, while amping up the berry flavor.
• Cranberry juice is typically sweetened, especially if it’s labeled as cranberry juice cocktail. It’s lighter in color. You can use it if it’s all you can find, but keep in mind the drink will be sweeter.

How to make a cranberry mule (basic steps)

The mule a favorite easy drink to serve when entertaining because it’s just so simple! You don’t need to dirty a cocktail shaker for this Cranberry Moscow Mule: just pour it all into the glass. Here’s what to do:

1. Pour ¼ cup vodka, ¼ cup cranberry juice, and 1 tablespoon lime juice, into a copper mug or serving glass of your choice.
2. Top with ⅓ cup ginger beer.
3. Add ice and garnish with lime. If you’d like, add some fresh or frozen cranberries to complete the look!

About those copper mugs

No Cranberry Mule recipe is complete without a copper mug! Of course, you can serve a mule in whatever you like. But since it’s invention in the 1940’s, the Mule has been served in a copper mug: both for tradition sake, and the sensory effect of drinking from an ice-cold mug. It’s so satisfying!

You can use copper mugs for any type of drink, and they make great gifts. Here’s a link to some solid copper mugs on Amazon.

Making a cranberry mule for a crowd

Are you entertaining and don’t want to worry about measuring out each drink? Here’s what we would do:

• Mix up 8 servings without ginger beer. That would be 2 cups vodka, 2 cups cranberry juice, and ½ cup lime juice.
• In each copper mug, pour about ½ cup mixer and ⅓ cup ginger beer. The exact measurements are 4 ½ ounces (9 tablespoons) mixer plus 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) ginger beer. But you don’t have to be that exact.

More cranberry drinks

Cranberry juice has spawned some of the most iconic cocktails in history! Here are a few popular cranberry drinks to try:

• Opt for the classic Vodka Cranberry or Sea Breeze Cocktail
• Try the ever popular Cosmopolitan Cocktail
• Go for a Cranberry Margarita, Cranberry Martini or Cranberry Mimosa

01

Vodka Cranberry Cocktail

02

Cosmopolitan Cocktail

03

Cranberry Margarita

04

Cranberry Mimosa

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