No. 23Vodka & Gin Pickle Cocktails
Pickle Moscow Mule
Ginger kick, splash of brine, cold copper mug.
The Pickle Moscow Mule is the classic vodka, ginger beer and lime highball with a splash of dill pickle brine, served over ice in a copper mug. The brine adds a salty, savory edge that makes the ginger taste brighter. It is the easygoing, all-day mule of the bunch.
21+Updated
- Glass
- copper mug
- Method
- Built in the glass
- Time
- 2 min
- Makes
- 1 drink
Ingredients
Amounts for 1, in ounces.
- 2 oz vodka
- ½ oz fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
- ¾ oz dill pickle brine
- 4 oz ginger beer (chilled)
- 1 lime wheel (for garnish)
- 1 dill pickle spear (for garnish)
- Glass
- copper mug
- Garnish
- lime wheel and pickle spear
How to make it
- Fill a copper mug with ice.
- Add the vodka, lime juice and pickle brine.
- Top with the ginger beer.
- Stir once, gently, to combine.
- Garnish with a lime wheel and a pickle spear.
Bar tips
- Use a dry, spicy ginger beer rather than ginger ale so the brine has something to push against.
- Pour the ginger beer last and stir only once to keep it fizzy.
Make it your own
- Swap the vodka for gin and it becomes a pickle London mule.
Bar lore
John G. Martin of Heublein, the company that owned Smirnoff, and Jack Morgan, owner of Hollywood's Cock 'n' Bull, are credited with popularizing the Moscow Mule in the early 1940s to sell more vodka and Morgan's ginger beer. The copper mug became its calling card.
Drink responsibly. This one is for adults of legal drinking age. Want it without the booze? The zero-proof drinks are just as briny.
Full recipe: dillin.org/recipes/pickle-moscow-mule
