Enhance Your Bourbon Mule with These Simple Warming Additions

While a Moscow mule delivers a refreshing cocktail of ginger beer, lime juice, and vodka served over ice, swapping the vodka for bourbon can round out some of the spicier notes of the ginger beer and deliver a cocktail that is challenging to set back down. Served in noticeable copper mugs, mules are cocktails that command attention. With the right recipe and assembly of ingredients, they can delight revelers at your next raucous gathering. By drawing inspiration from seasonal ingredients and playing up the sweetness of your drink, a classic recipe becomes re-imagined and nuanced without requiring any advanced skill on the part of the party’s presiding bartender.

For those who appreciate the warming dimension that ginger provides yet still want to taste the bourbon in their drink, there are plenty of ingredients that can be used in this cocktail so that it remains bright and zippy, even when a weightier bourbon is poured. Keep these easy additions and recipe variations in mind to accentuate the unique tasting notes of the different kinds of bourbon you decide to use in your drink and add a feather in your at-home bartending cap. 

For bourbon lovers who appreciate the subtle sweet notes certain bourbon labels can provide, the inclusion of maple or brown sugar syrup can lend a delightful dimension to these drinks. While a traditional mule recipe lets the warm flavor of ginger steal the show, inviting sweet ingredients into the mix can make this edited beverage appealing for those craving a sweeter sipper. Notes of caramel or vanilla found in the tasting profile of bourbons can step forward with this inclusion. You can also use honey to highlight similar tasting notes in your chosen bottle of bourbon. 

Batch make this sweetened recipe for a self-serve option to set out at your next party, and consider complementing this sweeter pour with strategic garnishes of cinnamon sticks and candied lemon peels. Don’t have sugar syrup handy? Make your drink with a ginger beer that offers more sweetness than zingy, warming spice.

While garnishes like a fiery torched cinnamon stick can elevate your drink, you can also add other spices to build comforting warmth in your cocktails. Try muddling fresh ginger to include in your drink, throw in powdered spices like nutmeg or allspice, or shine a light on rye-forward bourbons with a quick crack of ground black peppercorn. 

Bourbons with tasting notes of cardamom, saffron, aniseed, or cloves can be further highlighted by including the same ingredients directly in your cocktail. Or, step your foot on the pedal of heat by adding a sprinkle of cayenne to build a punchier recipe. To match this warmer palate, select bourbons like Michter’s Straight Rye, Four Roses Single Barrel, or Bulleit. Splashes of Wild Turkey or Russell’s Reserve can also add satisfying spice to your creative interpretations of the mule. 

Let the current flavors of the season inform your boozy mule recipes. During colder months, plop cranberries and sprigs of rosemary into your creative concoctions, or sprinkle freshly ground pumpkin pie spice into your recipe. Consider using persimmons and pears in your drinks, and grill peach or apple slices to bring a subtle smoky sweetness into your glass. 

To make drinks to serve during hotter seasons, incorporate dehydrated citrus wheels and fresh fruit into your recipes and use them as garnishes. Slices of watermelon can be perched upon the rim of a glass, cherries can be dropped into your drink, or cubes of mango can be speared and used as garnish. Of course, pairing any of these fruits with a sprinkle of cinnamon or cloves can keep flavor profiles balanced if you want a cocktail with just the right amount of sweetness and a warming touch of spice.

Now that you have a few ideas to bring different kinds of fruits to your mule recipes, you can also play with the texture and form of fruit to create unique cocktails. Try muddling fruit to use in your drinks, or use dried and dehydrated pieces of fruit as garnishes. A dried piece of sugary mango can add flavor to a drink, and a pretty citrus wheel can top off a filled glass. Use cocktail sticks to pierce smaller pieces of fruit together, and pair your choices of fruit with herbs for added fresh flavor. Strawberries and mint, apple and rosemary, or pear and basil can help impart new flavors to an old, reliable favorite like the mule. 

Alternatively, you can infuse the bourbons you plan on using to make your cocktails. Dice Turkish figs for infusing bourbon, or use peach- or raspberry-infused bourbon to make mules to serve at a backyard summer picnic. 

Turn up the zippy flavor profile of bourbon-based cocktails by focusing on some of the more citrusy and zesty ingredients you can add to the mix. While lime is traditionally used to make Moscow mules, lemon and orange can also add fresh flavor to each glass. Consider using grapefruit juice to build your drink, and soften some of the pucker-inducing flavors with extra sweeteners or herbs. 

If you’re worried about messing up a dependable recipe, try adding flavor to your bourbon beverages with a few splashes of Angostura bitters. This unique concoction can send hints of orange zest, clove, mint, and spiced coffee into your recipe without you having to hunt and collect various ingredients. Alternatively, you can infuse bourbon with orange, lemon, and fresh vanilla pods to yield a flavorful, zingy libation that will not only elevate your next mule but bring brightness to old-fashioned cocktails and classic Boulevardiers.