Classic cocktail · Guided recipe

Mexican Mule

A Moscow Mule with tequila: agave spirit, lime and ginger beer. Bright, spicy and lively.

Preparation~2 minSuper easyStrengthMediumabout 12% ABVMethodBuilt in glass6 guided stepsIngredients3Copper mug (or tall glass)

Highball

In the glassTequila (blanco) · Fresh lime juice · Ginger beer

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Make it with guidanceOne clear action at a time, with timers built in.

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What goes in

Ingredients

An empty hammered copper Moscow Mule mug with a round handle and steel rim. — Serving glassCopper mug

Set up before you pour

Use a copper mug.

Copper chills quickly and keeps a mule-style drink feeling especially cold at the rim and in the hand.

Standard size: 400 ml13½ oz
Ice & serve: Fill it with fresh ice cubes.
If you don’t own one: Use a highball glass if you do not have a copper mug.

Tools to set out

jigger or measuring spoon

Compare all glass types

Scale to your copper mug (or tall glass)We’ll remember this glass size.

Tequila (blanco)45 ml
Ginger beer90 ml
Fresh lime juice15 ml

Start making

From bottle to glass

Method

01
Ice the glass
Fill the glass with ice
02
Measure and pour
Pour 45 ml tequila
- Tequila (blanco)
03
Measure and pour
Add 15 ml fresh lime juice
- Fresh lime juice
04
Top gently
Top with 90 ml ginger beer
- Ginger beer
05
Stir around the ice
Stir gently to combine
06
Finish the drink
Finish it — add a lime wedge and a sprig of mint
Why it mattersSlap the mint between your palms before planting it — that little hit releases the oils, and the smell is half the drink.

Know your drink

About the Mexican Mule

A salt-rimmed Margarita, coral Paloma and mezcal rocks drink on an agave terrace.

Where the agave shows

Ginger and agave share a peppery streak, which is why this works better than most tequila-and-soda ideas. Both have a heat that lands at the back of the mouth rather than the front. The lime keeps them from stacking up into something harsh. Get the ratio wrong toward ginger beer and the tequila disappears entirely, which is a waste of good tequila.

Buy a bottle that says 100 percent agave on the label. Mixto tequila can be up to 49 percent other sugars, and in a drink where the spirit is meant to be recognizable that shortcut shows up immediately as a flat, slightly chemical sweetness. A mid-priced 100 percent agave blanco costs little more and changes the drink completely.

Common questions

Mexican Mule FAQ

Blanco or reposado for this?

Blanco if you want the pepper and the raw agave to cut through the ginger, which is the version most bars pour. Reposado softens the edges with a little vanilla and oak and suits people who find blanco harsh. Skip añejo, since the barrel character gets lost under 90 ml of mixer.

What happens if I use mezcal?

Smoke and ginger get along better than they have any right to. Use half mezcal and half tequila the first time, because a full 45 ml of a strongly smoky bottle will run over everything else. Espadín is the sensible starting point rather than the wilder agaves.

How much worse is bottled lime juice?

Noticeably, in a drink this short on ingredients. Bottled lime is cooked and tastes faintly of the bottle, and against agave that dullness is obvious. One lime gives roughly 30 ml, so a single fruit covers two drinks. Squeeze it within an hour of drinking.

Is this basically a Paloma?

Different drink. A Paloma is tequila with grapefruit soda or fresh grapefruit and salt, which makes it bitter and slightly savory. This one runs sharper and hotter, with ginger doing the work grapefruit does there. The two overlap only in the tequila and the tall glass.

What ingredients are in a Mexican Mule?

A classic Mexican Mule calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Tequila, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Fresh lime juice, 90 ml (3 oz) Ginger beer. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

How strong is a Mexican Mule?

A standard Mexican Mule is roughly 12% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.

Is a Mexican Mule shaken or stirred?

A Mexican Mule is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.

Sharpen the technique