Your Old-School Moscow Mule Enters A New Era When You Add A Splash Of This

The Moscow mule is a summertime essential. The drink is served in an iconic copper mug, filled with punchy ginger beer, vodka, and a healthy squeeze of lime juice. It is refreshing, cool, a bit spicy, with a sharp acidity that adds an essential brightness. In essence, it's perfect. So why mess with perfection? Well, because variety is the spice of life, and there are many ways to get a kick out of a mule. And one great way to perk up the classic cocktail is to swap your lime juice for grapefruit.

Adding grapefruit in lieu of lime juice will give you a similar citrusy flair with a bit of nuance and complexity. Grapefruit lends an almost floral taste to the cocktail and a more bitter edge that plays well with ginger beer's spiciness. Plus, you can always add it alongside the lime juice for the best of both worlds.  No matter how you choose to incorporate it, the big, bold citrus fruit will add a totally new twist to this familiar favorite. 

Of course, adding grapefruit to a classic Moscow mule is enough of an enhancement, but you can build on your beverage from there. One easy improvement is to add a bit of rosemary. It's well-known that rosemary and grapefruit work well together. Plus, rosemary's fresh, herbaceousness bridges the grapefruit's floral notes and the ginger beer's peppery finish. It's easy enough with a bit of rosemary simple syrup stirred in. If rosemary isn't your thing, you can also use basil or even lemon grass syrup.

If you want to play up the grapefruit's freshness and the ginger beer's heat, muddle a few jalapeño slices when mixing your mule to give it even more of an edge. You could lean further into this element by rimming your glass with a fruit puree like chamoy, the Mexican condiment made from pickled fruit and chiles. And if you're not a Moscow mule purist, you can change up your liquor of choice, like swapping the vodka for gin. With its array of botanicals (think juniper berries), the spirit will perfectly complement the grapefruit's bittersweetness with its astringency. Or, you could try a smoky mezcal (also a great choice for an old fashioned) or smoky riff. Just don't forget the copper mug.