St. Agrestis · Cocktail library
Moscow Mule
Vodka, ginger beer and lime, with or without aromatic bitters.
Go to the recipe ↓A Moscow Mule is vodka lengthened with ginger beer and sharpened with lime. The IBA version below is the plainest: three ingredients combined in a Mule cup or rocks glass with a gentle stir, and it does not mention ice. The two alternatives answer a different question. Both add Angostura bitters and give clear ice and glass directions. The Bar also uses noticeably more lime relative to its vodka.
IBA: three ingredients
Contains alcohol
Ingredients
Original recipe quantities.
See the proportions
Share of the measured liquid, before ice. Unmeasured additions and non-volume ingredients are excluded.
Method as published
- Pour the vodka and ginger beer into a Mule cup or rocks glass.
- Add the lime juice and stir gently to bring the ingredients together.
Garnish Lime slice.
- The source names Smirnoff Vodka.
- The source does not mention ice. None has been added here.
Recipe source: International Bartenders Association ↗
Angostura: with four dashes of bitters
Contains alcohol
Ingredients
Original recipe quantities.
See the proportions
Share of the measured liquid, before ice. Unmeasured additions and non-volume ingredients are excluded.
Method as published
- Build the drink in a tumbler over ice cubes, using the vodka, spicy ginger beer, lime juice and Angostura aromatic bitters.
Garnish Lime wheel.
- Ginger beer is given as a range, 4 to 5 oz. Set it separately rather than scaling it as a fixed amount.
- The source specifies spicy ginger beer.
- The source states only that the drink is built. It gives no order of addition.
Recipe source: angosturabitters.com ↗
The Bar: copper mug, extra lime
Contains alcohol
Ingredients
Original recipe quantities.
See the proportions
Share of the measured liquid, before ice. Unmeasured additions and non-volume ingredients are excluded.
Method as published
- Fill a copper mug with cubed ice.
- Add the vodka, lime juice and ginger beer.
- Finish with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters.
Garnish Two lime wedges. The ingredient list shows a single lime wedge line, but the method calls for two.
- The source names Smirnoff No. 21 Vodka.
- The ingredient list says only 'bitters'. The method identifies them as Angostura.
Recipe source: thebar.com ↗
Where the versions differ
Lime is the clearest measured difference. IBA uses 10 ml of lime against 45 ml of vodka. Angostura's 1/2 oz against 2 oz of vodka is in a similar proportion. The Bar uses 0.75 oz of lime against 1.75 oz of vodka, close to twice the lime relative to the spirit.
Bitters divide the versions too. IBA uses none, The Bar uses 2 dashes and Angostura uses 4. Ice also varies. Only the two bitters versions call for ice cubes, so the IBA version is the one to read carefully if you expect the usual iced serve.