Christmas Moscow Mule

This Christmas Moscow Mule is perfect for creating some extra holiday cheer. It's made with classic mule ingredients—vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice—but we add cranberry juice, orange juice, and amaretto to make it perfect for the holidays.

Jump to:

• What is a Moscow Mule?
• Why We Love This Cocktail
• Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Food Pairing Ideas
• Frequently asked questions
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is a Moscow Mule?

Moscow mules are traditionally made with vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer and are garnished with lime and mint. Ginger beer is fizzy, sweet, and a little spicy, and it tastes super refreshing with the addition of fresh lime juice. Moscow mules are usually served over ice in a copper mug, which keeps them super cold.

We included all of the traditional ingredients in this Moscow mule, but we also added cranberry juice, orange juice, and amaretto. Cranberries and oranges are both perfect seasonal ingredients around the holidays, and amaretto has a sweet almond flavor that reminds me of my mom's Christmas cookies.

Why We Love This Cocktail

It's easy: This Christmas mule is so easy and doesn't even require a cocktail shaker. Throw all of the ingredients into a copper mug and enjoy—that's all there is to it!

It's super festive: Nearly every ingredient in this drink tastes like Christmas and it looks so pretty with the garnishes. The addition of amaretto is so nostalgic for me because I associate the almond scent and taste with Christmas treats.

Looking for other holiday cocktails? Try our holiday party sangria, pomegranate margarita, pear gin cocktail, or apple cider old fashioned, and winter aperol spritz.

Ingredients Notes and Substitutions

Vodka: We use a potato vodka—use whatever you generally prefer. Potato vodka is slightly sweeter than grain vodka.

Amaretto: Amaretto is an Italian almond-flavored liqueur. It's sweet and nutty and smells distinctively almond-y and delicious. You can find it easily at most liquor stores.

Cranberry Juice Cocktail: Buy cranberry juice cocktail, not 100% cranberry juice (which is super bitter). We actually buy low-calorie cranberry juice cocktail and can't tell the difference, so do whatever you prefer.

Ginger Beer: Ginger beer is a non-alcoholic drink, usually in the soda aisle. It's sweet, super gingery, and carbonated. We get sugar-free ginger beer (it's sweetened with sweeteners instead of sugar) to cut back on some of the sugar, but regular is fine too.

Lime juice: Use fresh lime juice—there's really no substitute!

Orange juice: Fresh orange juice is the best, but bottled orange juice can be substituted in a pinch.

See recipe card for amounts.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Fill a copper mug with ice (we use crushed ice). Then add the vodka, amaretto, cranberry juice, lime juice, and orange juice. Top with the ginger beer, then stir with a spoon to combine everything.

Step 2: Optionally, garnish with a sprig of rosemary and fresh cranberries.

Food Pairing Ideas

Pair this Christmas Moscow Mule with one of our favorite holiday recipes!

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📖 Recipe