classic · built
Moscow Mule recipe
Vodka and lime, with ginger beer. Cold copper mug required.
A Moscow Mule is 60 ml (56.4 g) Vodka, 22 ml (22.7 g) Fresh Lime Juice and 120 ml (124.8 g) Ginger Beer, built and served in a copper mule mug. It pours to about 202 ml before ice, at roughly 11.9% ABV. Weighing the ingredients instead of measuring them is what keeps the balance identical from one round to the next.
- Glasscopper mule mug
- Methodbuilt
- Pour volume202 ml
- Strength (est.)11.9% ABV
- Time2 min
Moscow Mule ingredients — in millilitres and grams
Grams are what the PourPilot coaster actually targets. They are not the same as the millilitres: a spirit is lighter than water, a syrup is heavier, so 30 ml of one is never 30 g. The right-hand column is the density we use, in grams per millilitre.
| Ingredient | Volume | Weight | g/ml | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vodka | 60 ml | 56.4 g | 0.94 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Fresh Lime Juice | 22 ml | 22.7 g | 1.03 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Ginger Beer | 120 ml | — | 1.04 | Top to fill |
How to make a Moscow Mule
- Set your copper mule mug on the scale (or on the PourPilot coaster) and zero it. Every measurement below is given in millilitres and in grams, so you can use either.
- Fill the copper mule mug with fresh ice.
- Build Vodka and Fresh Lime Juice straight into the glass, weighing each pour.
- Top with Ginger Beer and stir once, gently, from the bottom up.
Moscow Mule: the questions people actually ask
How strong is a Moscow Mule?
Roughly 11.9% ABV as poured, before the ice dilutes it — typically another 15–25% water by the time you finish stirring or shaking. Sessionable. Comparable to a glass of wine by volume.
What glass should a Moscow Mule be served in?
A copper mule mug. Fill it with fresh ice, not the ice you mixed with.
Can I make a Moscow Mule without a jigger?
Yes — that is what the gram column is for. Put the glass or tin on a kitchen scale, zero it, and pour to the weight. It is more accurate than a jigger because nothing is left clinging to the inside of the measure. The PourPilot coaster does the same thing without you having to watch a display: it lights up as you approach the target and tells you when to stop.
Why are some ingredients not weighed?
Dashes of bitters and rinses are too small to weigh reliably — a dash is roughly 0.8 ml, well inside the noise of any bar scale. Count them instead. Everything else in this Moscow Mule is weighed.
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