Ingredients
- 2 ounces dark rum
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Ginger beer to top off
- Lime wheel and mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
- In a copper mug or rocks glass, add ice, rum, and lime juice.
- Top off with ginger beer.
- Garnish with lime wheel and mint sprig.
Variations and Substitutions
Your Moscow mule with rum doesn't need to follow all of the rules.
- Experiment with different styles of rum, such a silver or navy.
- Add a splash of simple syrup to make yours a little sweeter.
- Up the amount of lime juice for a tarter cocktail.
- Swap lemon juice in place of lime juice for a brighter citrus taste.
Garnishes
Whether you don't want a traditional garnish or you don't have some ingredients on hand, there are plenty of options.
- Instead of a lime wheel, try a wedge or slice.
- Skip the lime and use a lemon wheel, wedge, or slice.
- For an updated look, use a dehydrated citrus wheel.
- Instead of mint, use rosemary or basil.
About the Moscow Mule With Rum
While the lore of the classic Moscow Mule is fairly standard, three men with stakes in each of the ingredients were sitting around a bar, spitballing about how to use those ingredients together, and the original Moscow Mule was born. Others credit a bartender tasked with using up the remaining or overflowing bar stock before it went bad.
There's no clear answer for when rum began to appear in Moscow Mules, however, but like its parent cocktail, it can be assumed that rum mule was born of either necessity or curiosity. Unlike the piña colada, there's no proof that the rum mule was popular among pirates, but it certainly would make for an excellent part of a pirate's life.
A Pirate's Life for You
While rum may not be the first spirit to come to mind for a Moscow Mule riff, it's a spirit that can hold its own, more than fine, against the strong ginger beer notes. When you need a break from vodka or you need a spin on your usual, give this mule a try.
