This Christmas Moscow Mule is the perfect easy cocktail to enjoy this holiday season. All you need is 4 ingredients and 5 minutes, then serve in a copper mug with cranberries and fresh rosemary for an ultra-festive twist.
If you've made your way through my holiday cocktails and tried the Holiday Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail Recipe, Vegan Spiked Hot Chocolate, and Thanksgiving Margarita Pitcher, it's officially time to try this Christmas Moscow Mule!
It's everything you'd expect from a Moscow mule but made with cranberry juice to make it a vibrant red for the holiday season. Serve with my Easy Oven Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce for the ultimate hosting appetizer.
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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Easiest holiday cocktail. No bar tools, no hard-to-find ingredients and no fancy bitters or liqueurs. It doesn't get easier than this Christmas Moscow Mule recipe!
- Can be made for a crowd. If you love my large batch Thanksgiving Margarita Pitcher, you can easily make multiple cocktails for hosting. I've given the measurements for 2 cocktails. Multiply these measurements to make as many cocktails as you need.
- Customizable. Scroll down to my Variations section where I've given you a number of ways to make this Christmas cocktail your own.
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
- Vodka - A classic in any Moscow mule. For the smoothest, best-tasting Moscow mule, use a quality Vodka like Grey Goose, Tito's or Belvedere.
- Limes - Fresh lime juice is essential when making a restaurant-quality cocktail. Pre-bottled lime juice is almost always watered down and made with preservatives to keep it shelf-stable. To make sure you have fresh lime juice on hand at all times, freeze some in an ice cube tray, then defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
- Ginger beer - Depending on the brand, ginger beer can be very strong and overpowering. I love the brand Q, but test out a few to find the one that suits you best. Check out this article: The 11 Best Ginger Beers for Moscow Mules and Beyond.
- Cranberry juice - The ingredient that makes this yule mule festive! Most cranberry juices sold in stores are sweetened to counterbalance the tartness or blended with sweeter fruits like grapes. I recommend pure, unsweetened cranberry juice. If you can't find it in the juice aisle, check the freezer section!
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
📖Variations
- Make a sweeter mule: If you prefer a sweeter Moscow mule, use sweetened cranberry juice. Or, use the simple syrup from my Holiday Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail Recipe to sweeten to taste.
- Cranberry juice substitution: Pomegranate juice is similar in tartness and makes a great alternative. Pomegranate arils would also make a pretty, festive garnish!
- Garnish ideas: Try a cinnamon stick, sugared cranberries, or a lime wedge instead of a slice.
🔪Instructions
- Add ice to two Moscow mule mugs.
- Add vodka, lime juice, cranberry juice and ginger beer.
- Stir to combine, then garnish with fresh cranberries, a sprig of fresh rosemary and a slice of lime.
- Serve immediately!
💭Recipe FAQs
You can, but your Christmas Moscow mule will be less spiced and much sweeter! Feel free to experiment and see which flavor you prefer.
Copper is great at conducting temperatures, keeping your Moscow mule chilled and icy for much longer than a traditional cocktail glass.
Shaking carbonated cocktails would cause tons of air bubbles to form and cause pressure to build up inside of the cocktail shaker. This in turn will cause the cocktail to fizz up and out the top of the cocktail shaker. A simple stir is all you need to prepare this drink.
👩🏻🍳Chef Tips
- Adjust to taste! When making any cocktail, I recommend using my recipe as a guide and adjusting the flavors to suit your personal taste. If you prefer a more sour Moscow mule, add a bit more lime. For a spicier mule, add additional ginger beer, etc.
- Use high-quality vodka. Cheap vodkas are not smooth and can easily overpower the cocktail. Investing in a good vodka helps make homemade cocktails taste just like the drinks you order at your favorite restaurants and bars.
- Don't overlook the garnish! Although garnish doesn't impact the flavor, it does help make your cocktails look impressive and extra festive. Perfect for entertaining, hosting, or making the holiday season special.
More Cocktail Recipes You May Like:
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating & comment below to let me know how it came out. Thanks for visiting!
🍳Recipe
Christmas Moscow Mule
Ingredients
- 3 ounces vodka
- 2 limes juiced
- 1 cup cranberry juice
- 1 cup ginger beer
Instructions
- Begin by adding ice to two Moscow mule mugs or two cocktail glasses.
- To each cup, add 1 ½ ounces of vodka, the juice of one lime, ½ cup of cranberry juice and ½ cup of ginger beer.
- Stir everything to combine. Garnish with a lime slice, fresh cranberries and rosemary. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Adjust to taste! When making any cocktail, I recommend using my recipe as a guide and adjusting the flavors to suit your personal taste. If you prefer a more sour Moscow mule, add a bit more lime. For a spicier mule, add additional ginger beer, etc.
- Use high-quality vodka. Cheap vodkas are not smooth and can easily overpower the cocktail. Investing in a good vodka helps make homemade cocktails taste just like the drinks you order at your favorite restaurants and bars.
- Don't overlook the garnish! Although garnish doesn't impact the flavor, it does help make your cocktails look impressive and extra festive. Perfect for entertaining, hosting, or making the holiday season special.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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