Kentucky Mule Recipe

But what if we told you that there’s a better mule cocktail – one you can craft in less than five minutes at home?

After crafting and drinking a Kentucky Mule, you won’t just believe us. You’ll become a Kentucky Mule fan too.

In simple terms, a Kentucky Mule is a Moscow Mule crafted with bourbon instead of vodka.

There’s no debate that the two drinks are similar. However, in our opinion, the Kentucky Mule is the superior cocktail.

We don’t know why bourbon combines splendidly with ginger beer. Then again, bourbon pairs well with most mixers. Ginger beer is no exception to this rule.

Fun Fact
Bourbon can be produced anywhere but it isn’t officially bourbon unless it’s produced in Kentucky.

You don’t need a lot of fancy ingredients to craft a Kentucky Mule. You probably have the following ingredients in your pantry and/or bar:

Don’t feel compelled to run to the liquor store to buy a special bottle of bourbon for this cocktail. Instead, you can and should use your favorite bourbon. There are no bad bourbon choices here!

We use Bulleit Bourbon due to its warm, rich flavors. This bourbon has a 45% ABV and a generous amount of rye in its mix.

Discover our favorite bourbon cocktails.

Fever-Tree is our typical choice when it comes to ginger beer. This ginger beer blends fermented ginger root from Cochin, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast to create a spicy yet balanced mixer. It works well in our Kentucky Mule recipe.

Buy Fever-Tree Ginger Beer from Amazon.

You don’t need any special bar tools to craft a Kentucky Mule at home. We use the following basic bar tools in our recipe:

You can improvise if you’re missing either of these basic bar tools. However, neither is expensive.

Discover 10 essential bar tools for home mixologists.

The first step is to pour freshly squeezed lime juice into a Moscow Mule mug.

We use a miniature angled measuring cup for this step but you can use a jigger instead.

The second step is to measure the bourbon and ginger beer. We use a Japanese Jigger for this step to ensure accurate measurements and clean pours.

Purchase a Japanese Jigger from Amazon if you don’t have a jigger or want an inexpensive upgrade.

The third step is to pour the bourbon and ginger beer into the Moscow Mule mug.

Pour these ingredients immediately upon measuring each.

The fourth step is to fill the copper mule mug with ice cubes and gently stir.

We use a metal straw to stir the cocktail but you can use a bar spoon instead.

Unless you’re as stubborn as a mule, consider experimenting with the following mule recipes to discover your favorite:

Kentucky Mule FAQs