Yule Mule (Christmas Moscow Mule)

Based on the traditional Moscow Mule, the Yule Mule is a holiday Moscow Mule cocktail featuring ginger beer and cranberries. Tastes just like Christmas!

About this Yule Mule recipe

Ginger beer is one of my favorite things ever. I love to sip it on its own, but I also love it in cocktails. I love it in a traditional Moscow Mule. And in a Dark and Stormy. And in a Kentucky Mule. And in an Irish Mule. And… well, you get the picture.

Mule cocktails traditionally feature vodka (or another kind of spirit), lime juice and ginger beer, but it can also contain other flavors with the addition of other juices and simple syrup.

This holiday Moscow Mule is one of my favorite renditions, with sweet-tart cranberry juice and a pretty rosemary garnish. It’s so festive and perfect for holiday parties!

I have a lot of cocktails on my blog, but every year, my friends and family ask me to bring THIS Yule Mule to our holiday get-togethers. It is one of my most popular recipes, drawing thousands of visitors every holiday season who love its festive charm and delicious flavor as much as I do.

More holiday cocktails: Christmas Margaritas • Cinnamon White Russians • Christmas Tree Mimosa Bar • Christmas Spa Water • Christmas Mojito

Why you’ll love this recipe

The season for the Yule Mule is finally here! If you haven’t tried this cocktail yet, you are going to love it.

• With flavors of cranberry and ginger, it’s sweet and spiced with tons of holiday flavor.
• You can make it with vodka or your favorite spirit. Substitute bourbon, rum or gin or make it non-alcoholic!
• It’s a crowd-favorite for parties. I’ll show you how to make one big batch!

What is a Yule Mule?

A Yule Mule is a holiday variation of the classic Moscow Mule. A Moscow Mule cocktail is made with vodka, lime juice and ginger beer.

The Yule Mule has the added element of sweet and tart cranberries and their juice. It’s really just a Christmas Moscow mule. Honestly, it can be a Thanksgiving Moscow mule too! The cranberry juice makes it a perfect fit for the holiday season.

I find this cranberry Moscow mule to be so light and refreshing and filled with holiday spirit! It is festive and bright, and your holiday celebrations need it. Promise.

Ingredients

You’ll need to grab a few things from the grocery store to make these Yule Mules. I’ll go into more detail below, but here are a few tips on what to buy:

Alcohol: Vodka can be replaced with rum, bourbon or gin. It can also be omitted entirely. See the next section for more about what kind of vodka to get.

Lime juice: I recommend juicing limes for the freshest flavor. Use a citrus squeezer if you are just making a couple drinks. If you’re planning to make a lot, see if your grocery store sells fresh-pressed lime juice. Otherwise the concentrate will work fine!

Cranberry juice: I prefer 100% cranberry juice. Cranberry juice cocktail has added sugar and can make this cocktail more sweet. It’s up to you which you use!

Ginger beer: Ginger beer is non-alcoholic and can have a strong spiced ginger flavor. I recommend a mild to medium spice level for this cocktail. (For more on spiciness, see the section Best Ginger Beer for Moscow Mules below).

Garnishes

A pop of green is important for that Christmas-y look! Pick up some fresh rosemary sprigs — or trim some from your cocktail herb garden! (Maybe your rosemary bush exploded like mine did this year. I’ll be making Yule Mules ’til I fully trim it down!)

You’ll also want to grab some fresh cranberries for a pop of red. You can make a batch of sugared cranberries for an extra special touch! They make the prettiest garnish.

Best alcohol for a Yule Mule

Vodka is the traditional spirit for a Moscow mule, so that’s what I usually choose for this holiday mule cocktail, especially if I am serving it to other people. Vodka is crisp and clean, so it highlights the cranberry, lime and ginger flavors and doesn’t taste too boozy. Other spirits can be cloying, so vodka is usually a safe option when serving friends.

If you need help picking out a bottle of vodka for your home bar, look no further than this vodka guide that lists all my favorite brands. My go-to brands are Tito’s, Reyka and Absolut.

However, mules are very versatile and work with just about any spirit, so feel free to choose bourbon, gin, tequila or rum when you’re making this Christmas mule. My homemade spiced rum is fantastic in this cocktail, too! I’d love to hear what your favorite is!

Best ginger beer for Moscow Mules

To make a Yule Mule, pick up some limes, cranberries, cranberry juice, vodka and a spicy, non-alcoholic ginger beer. “But which ginger beer?” you ask.

Well, in my opinion, the best ginger beer for Moscow mules is a spicy one — the spicier the better! Not spicy like peppers, but spicy like ginger. Ginger ale will work, but it can make the drink super sweet (especially if you are using cranberry juice cocktail) and it lacks the spicy punch of ginger beer that I love in this drink.

Favorite brands by spice level

A few years back, I tried a ton of ginger beers and ranked them by how spicy they are. If you are curious about my ginger beer taste test, you need to check out my list of the best ginger beers!

Mild ginger beers: Fever Tree is very popular, and I find it to be very mild. Barritt’s is another delicious brand that is lighter on the spice.

Medium ginger beers: Gosling’s, Reed’s Original, Powell & Mahoney and Bundaberg are all top brands with a medium spice with a nice balance of sweetness.

Spicy ginger beers: For those who like it spicy (me!), try Maine Root, Reed’s Extra and Fentiman’s. I find the complexity of these spicier brands to bring more flavor to my mules.

Low-sugar/Sugar-free ginger beer: If you are looking for a lighter version, Zevia and Reed’s both carry a zero sugar ginger beer. If you’d rather control the amount of sugar, make a ginger simple syrup to tailor the flavor to your liking and use club soda for the bubbles.

Holiday Moscow Mules for a party

Yule Mules would be a cinch to whip up en masse for a holiday party. Everyone will rave about your Christmas Moscow Mules! Here’s how I recommend setting it up:

1. To prepare your Yule Mule mix for your holiday party, just make a big batch of the cranberry/lime/vodka base.
2. You can either top each glass with ginger beer right before you serve the drinks or add it to the pitcher (or punch bowl ^*) just before the party begins.
3. Set up a bowl of cranberries and rosemary sprigs to garnish drinks with quickly and easily.

Batch recipe

Here is a basic recipe to follow that makes ~8 cocktails:

• 2 cups vodka
• 1 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (about 6 limes)
• 2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
• 3 cups ginger beer
• plus fresh cranberries and rosemary for garnishes.

If you want to make more drinks, get my Party Punch Calculator that will help you determine how much of each ingredient to buy!

Non-alcoholic Moscow Mules

Need a mocktail version of the Yule Mule for any non-drinkers or kids? There are two main ways to make a Virgin Yule Mule (pictured above).

1. Cut the vodka entirely. You’ll have have a drink that’s non-alcoholic but still delicious. (Ginger beer is non-alcoholic!) Add some non-alcoholic bitters ^* for a little more flavor if you like.
2. Use non-alcoholic spirits. Yes, that’s a thing! Ritual and Seedlip are two brands I really like. You can even buy them online since they don’t contain alcohol! (But they taste as if they do.) You can even make homemade zero-proof spirits!

Both Seedlip Garden 108 ^* and Ritual gin alternative alternative are fantastic in the Yule Mule because they has those botanical, herbal, juniper and pine flavors that taste like Christmas.

You can also try one that emulates whiskey like Ritual whiskey alternative or Seedlip Grove 42 ^*. A rum substitute like Ritual rum alternative would be delicious too!

favorite non-alcoholic spirits

Seedlip non-alcoholic spirits

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ritual zero proof non-alcoholic spirits bundle

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spiritless non-alcoholic spirits bundle

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^*

Moscow mule mugs

Not having a holiday party this year? Not to worry — Yule Mules are just as perfect to sip on with a smaller crowd, too.

Serve these holiday mules in a copper mule mug if you have one, but an old-fashioned glass ^* (AKA rocks glass ^*) will do just fine.

I picked up the glasses in these pictures at a vintage shop while visiting Arizona, but I found some copper and glass mugs that have a similar vibe. These copper-coated glasses are pretty festive too!

If you are looking for some other mule recipes to make in your cute mugs, scroll to the section below called Holiday Moscow Mules.

favorite mule mugs

mule mug set

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black diamond mule mugs

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embossed mule mugs

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^*

Substitutions & variations

There are tons of ways you can make this cocktail your own! Here a few ideas to consider:

• Yule Mule Mocktails: Use a zero-proof spirit in lieu of vodka or omit it entirely for a non-alcoholic version.
• Pomegranate Yule Mules: Swap the cranberry juice for pomegranate juice for another holiday twist. You can also try swapping in white cranberry juice for a totally different flavor.
• Frozen Yule Mules: Freeze your ginger beer into ice cubes, then throw them with the other ingredients in a blender. Follow this tutorial for frozen Moscow Mules.
• Sugar-free Yule Mules: Use a sugar-free ginger beer such as Zevia. And be sure your cranberry juice has no sugar added as well.

Instructions

Let’s make some Yule Mules! Here’s what you’ll need to do:

In a cocktail shaker ^* filled with ice, combine the vodka, lime juice and cranberry juice. Shake well, until the shaker is cold in your hand. Mules should be CHILLY.

Fill two copper mule mugs ^* or old-fashioned glasses ^* with ice. Strain half of the cocktail into each glass.

Top each glass with ginger beer. Garnish with cranberries and a sprig of rosemary. Serve immediately.

Tips & tricks

I make these mules every single year for multiple holiday get togethers, and here are my best tips:

• If you like a more balanced cocktail, use 100% pure cranberry juice. For a sweeter cocktail, use cranberry juice cocktail.
• A mild or medium ginger beer is a safe bet for serving a group, but if you like a more intense flavor, use one with a stronger ginger flavor.
• Fresh lime juice is always your BFF in cocktails, but the concentrate works too.
• Use a mule mug if you have them, but don’t let it stop you. You can serve these in rocks glasses ^* or highball glasses too.
• Make it in advance by mixing up the vodka, lime and cranberry juices. Stash it in the fridge, then add to glasses and top up with ginger beer.

FAQ

More holiday Moscow Mules

If you’re looking for more Thanksgiving cocktails and Christmas cocktails, consider one of these ideas for holiday mules:

• Pumpkin Spice Mule: This one features a pumpkin spice syrup like you’d enjoy in a PSL!
• Apple Cider Mule: Apple cider stars in this recipe for a festive, apple pie-like drink.
• Pear Mule: Pear vodka gives the classic a unique fall spin.
• Gin-Gin Mule: Gin and ginger beer are a powerful duo in this simple version.
• Czech Mule: An herbal spirit called Becherovka is a delight in the mule cocktail.
• Gingerbread mule: Absinthe and orange make the mule taste like a gingersnap cookie.
• Candy Cane Moscow Mules: Peppermint lovers will adore this minty version with candy cane vodka.

All this talk about holiday cocktails and I might just make us a batch of Yule Mules to kick off our holiday season! This one really gets you in the spirit, my friends. Hope you enjoy it!

Video by Chris Henry Co.