A Festive Spin on a Classic
Moscow mules are probably one of my favorite drinks. I love the bright, sweet, and edgy spice of ginger beer. If this is one of your favorites too, why not put a spin on it to make it special for the holidays? We promise this cranberry thyme Moscow mule will at least get you to smile – if not by the taste, then at least by the name. We like to refer to it as our Moscow Rudolph.
This drink is perfect as a mocktail if you want to share it with your kids too or you can punch it up with vodka for the adults. It’s really fun to make your own signature holiday drink and taste test. Just try not to get too tipsy in the process! In our version, we made our cranberry simple syrup (so easy) with hints of blood orange.
be your own bartender
Check out our homemade blood orange cranberry sauce recipe, which uses the same process and has instructions for the simple syrup in the directions. Don’t worry, that cranberry sauce won’t go to waste. We’ve got more recipes for how you can use them for the holidays!
- Set up your station. Begin by making a thyme sugar plate. Just pour 1/3 cup sugar onto a plate and mix two stems worth of thyme leaves.
- Cut a lime in half. Take one of the halves and cut it in half again. Use one of those pieces of lime to wet the rim of your preferred cocktail glass by gently gliding it along the cup opening so that the edges and the area just below it have juice on them.
- Take your glass now and turn it on its side. Gently rotate the glass over and over until sugar coats the outer edge of the glass. Set aside.
- This part is optional. Remove the thyme leaves from the remaining stems and finely chop them before placing them inside the glass (note we did not do this in the photo below). Use a muddler to gently crush the leaves. If you prefer to skip this step, you can garnish with thyme instead.
- Use the jigger to measure 0.75 oz of cranberry simple syrup. If you want to easily make it from scratch, try our blood orange cranberry recipe. Take that 0.75 oz and pour it into the middle of your cocktail glass.
- Juice the remaining lime half into the 0.75 oz side of the jigger with a handheld juicer. Pour that into the glass. Follow that up with one can or bottle of ginger beer. You can either stir and drink as a mocktail or stir in 1.5 oz of your preferred vodka. Serve with optional garnishes of lime, cranberry to thyme. Enjoy this cranberry thyme Moscow mule!
Need answers?
Do you have to use a copper Moscow mule mug to drink the cocktail?
Not at all but you may just need to throw in some more ice if you plan on sipping leisurely. While the Moscow mule copper mugs help keep the ginger beer cool, it’s also used for presentation. Use your favorite glass and have fun!
What other herbs or spices go with cranberry and ginger beer?
We have not yet explored other herbs but other potential variations could be rosemary, cardamom, basil, star anise, and mint. We recommend using the fresh versions for herbs and whole spices.
Can you put ginger beer in a shaker?
No, please don’t. It will explode everywhere since it is carbonated. That will waste good ginger beer!
Cranberry Thyme Moscow Mule (Moscow Rudolph)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Lime
- ⅓ Cup Sugar
- 4 Stems Fresh thyme
- 0.75 oz Cranberry simple syrup (link in the blog for our recipe)
- 1 Ginger beer bottle or can
- 1.5 oz Vodka (optional)
- 3 Cranberries for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Start by setting up your station. Put ⅓ cup of sugar on a plate. Remove the thyme leaves off of two stems and mix them in with the sugar on the plate. This will be your thyme sugar. Set aside
- Cut one lime in half. Take one half and cut into half moons. Slide the half-moon slice of lime around the rim of the cocktail glass to wet it. By wetting the rim with lime juice, the sugar will stick in the next step
- Take the cocktail glass and turn it over. Rotate the glass over and over so that the rim gets coated with thyme sugar. Set aside.
- This part is optional. Take the remaining two thyme stems and remove the leaves. Finely chop them and place them in the cocktail glass. Use the muddler to gently crush the thyme leaves. You can garnish with thyme instead if you prefer to not add them chopped.
- Use the jigger to measure 0.75 oz of cranberry simple syrup. Check out our blood orange cranberry recipe linked above if you want to easily make it from scratch. Take that 0.75 oz and pour it into the middle of your cocktail glass
- Juice the remaining lime half into the 0.75 oz side of the jigger with a handheld juicer. When done, pour that into the glass.
- Add ice and pour the ginger beer can or bottle directly into the cocktail glass
- You can serve as a mocktail but if you want to add alcohol, measure 1.5 oz of vodka with the jigger and pour that into the cocktail as well
- Use a stirrer to mix the contents of the glass. Garnish with cranberries, a lime slice or more thyme. Enjoy!
Did you make Our Cranberry Thyme Moscow Mule?
Drop us a comment down below if so!