Be extra festive with your holiday beverages this year and make a Grinch cocktail! This incredibly easy drink is quick to prepare and is a fun twist on a mule for holiday parties.

Forever in search of festive themed holiday treats that don't require much artistic skill or effort, I kept my bottle of Midori chilled this year and rolled from an eerie green Halloween margarita right into this Grinch cocktail.

There doesn't seem to be a universally agreed-upon Grinch cocktail recipe, other than it being a beverage with green coloring. As a big Moscow mule fan, I knew the slight yellow hue of ginger beer would mix with the vibrant green of Midori to produce that specific shade of Grinch green. The melon twist from Midori mixes into the flavor just right, too.

Throw in a maraschino cherry and boom! You have a Christmas cocktail that's festive in a flash.

Grinch Cocktail Ingredients

Vodka, ginger beer, Midori, and a lime on a countertop.

Vodka: Use what you like!
Midori: Midori is a bright green melon liqueur. It has a pretty unique taste and offers the benefit of coloring a drink a nice hue of green without separately adding food coloring. In the case of this Grinch cocktail, it nails the signature shade of the Grinch's fur.
Ginger Beer: This is like a super-charged version of ginger ale. It's also non-alcoholic and carbonated, but with a bolder, gingery bite in flavor. I'm not much a fan of drinking it on its own, but it makes an excellent mixer in cocktails and mocktails, including non-alcoholic sangria. This can be found either in the soda aisle of the store, or by the drink mixers.
Lime Juice: Freshly-squeezed is best for a cocktail.

A grinch Christmas mule garnished with a maraschino cherry.

Tips and Tricks

Garnishes - Have fun with this! I like to rim the glass with white sanding sugar (shimmer sugar) for a glittery, festive vibe. Red sanding sugar is another option, though keep in mind it may dye your mouth as you sip. In a perfect world I would have found something red and heart-shaped as even more of an homage to The Grinch, but alas the Valentine's Day candies weren't in stores when I took these pictures. A maraschino cherry works just as well.
No shaking - Ginger beer is carbonated, so the built-up pressure in a cocktail shaker would make a big mess. All this Grinch cocktail needs is a good stir in the serving glass.
Make a Pitcher - Scale up this recipe to serve eight. Stir together everything but the ginger beer and ice in a large pitcher, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir in the ginger beer and add ice just before serving so they don't go flat/melt.
- 12 ounces vodka (1 ½ cups)
- 8 ounces Midori (1 cup)
- 6 ounces lime juice (¾ cup)
- 24 ounces ginger beer (3 cups, two 12-ounce cans)
- Ice

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