Apple Cider Mule

With a few extra ingredients, an apple cider mule is a simple twist on a classic cocktail just perfect for the fall. Apple cider and grated cinnamon pair nicely with the ginger and lime for a vodka cocktail sure to please a crowd.

For a long time I thought margaritas were my favorite drinks, but then I discovered moscow mules, and well...now I'm not so sure.

Classic mules are always welcome, but I've been playing around with flavored versions at home and love how easily you can take them in different directions. With fresh red cranberries and lime wedges for garnish, a cranberry moscow mule is especially festive around the holidays.

This version, made with apple cider and served with a grating of cinnamon, screams "fall!" in the best way. I'm thinking this apple cider moscow mule would make a delicious Thanksgiving cocktail this year (as would apple cider sangria).

Cocktail Ingredients

• Ginger beer: Ginger beer is non-alcoholic and can often be found in the drink mixers section of the grocery store, but I've started to notice it being stocked in the soda aisle as well. It's much more hopped-up in flavor (in a good way!) than ginger ale with a delicious bite. It's a bit much for drinking on its own, but it makes a wonderful cocktail component. Either regular or diet ginger beer works - usually I prefer regular versions of drink mixers for more heft, but I honestly don't mind diet ginger beer as it has a strong flavor.
• Apple cider: Since the ginger beer is carbonated, I use regular apple cider (versus sparkling apple cider). Shake it well before measuring it out for this drink.
• Vodka: Self-explanatory, use your preferred kind. I like Tito's for drinks, though I have a "lesser" bottle on hand to use when it comes to making lightened up vodka sauce.
• Lime juice: A staple in a mule, you'll need half a lime's worth of juice. Freshly-squeezed is best over the bottled stuff.
• Cinnamon: Grating a cinnamon stick (or adding a pinch of ground cinnamon) brings home the fall twist in this apple cider moscow mule.

How to Make This Drink

1. Crush the ice. If you don't have an ice maker that produces crushed ice (I don't) or have a bag of it, you can put regular ice cubes in a sealable bag and crush it yourself with a meat tenderizer or wooden mallet.
2. Slice an apple for garnish. While certainly not required, adding thin slices of an apple adds an extra festive twist. Hold the apple on its side (with the stem-side on either the right or left) and slice thin sections, discarding the seeds. I then cut them in half to more easily fit in the cup.
3. Add crushed ice to the glass of your choice. Aim to fill the cup about halfway with ice.
4. Pour in ingredients and stir.
5. Grate a cinnamon stick or add a pinch of ground cinnamon over top, stir, then serve.

Tips and Tricks

• Stir, don't shake a mule. The carbonation from ginger beer will produce a seriously pressurized situation in a cocktail shaker, which can lead to the top flying off and apple cider mule ingredients covering all of your kitchen surfaces. Even if you try to do it gently it can be surprisingly strong, so stick with stirring this drink to mix.
• Grating a cinnamon stick over top of the cup really adds something special to the flavor of this drink, and doubles as a stirring implement and garnish. Start with adding a small amount, stir it in, and then add more as to your taste. I like a fairly heavy grating!
• While copper mugs are the traditional serving vessels for mules as they retain the cold very well, you can still make this apple cider mule without. If you were serving these at a get-together, a hammered copper pitcher would be a fun touch as it would be unlikely that you'd have enough copper mugs for everyone anyway (I love mules and only have two mugs).

How to Make an Apple Cider Mule Pitcher

The recipe card below yields one cocktail, but the quantities can be scaled up pretty easily to make a whole pitcher. If your pitcher is extra-large you can likely get away with scaling it up even more, but to make a pitcher of four full-sized drinks, here are the recipe proportions:

• 20 ounces (2 ½ cups) ginger beer
• 16 ounces (2 cups) apple cider
• 8 ounces (1 cup) vodka
• 2 ounces (¼ cup) lime juice

Ahead of time you can stir together the apple cider, vodka, and lime juice in the pitcher. Stir in the cinnamon and ginger beer just prior to serving (so it doesn't go flat) and add apple slices for garnish. You can add ice to the pitcher if the drinks will be poured fairly soon after, or simply add ice to the individual glasses to pour over. I'd omit the ice from the pitcher if it'll sit for some time, as it will melt and dilute the drink.

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