The Kentucky Mule exists because someone, somewhere in Louisville, looked at a Moscow Mule and thought, "This would be better with bourbon." They were absolutely right. Take out the neutral vodka, add in the caramel-vanilla-oak complexity of a good bourbon, and suddenly you've got a cocktail that actually tastes like something. The ginger beer's spice plays off the whiskey's sweetness, the lime cuts through both, and you end up with a drink that's equally at home on a Derby Day porch or at a backyard cookout when the temperature hits ninety.
The original Moscow Mule was born in 1941 at the Cock 'n' Bull tavern in Los Angeles—a desperate marketing ploy to sell vodka, ginger beer, and copper mugs, three products nobody particularly wanted at the time. It worked, mostly because the copper mug photographs well and vodka doesn't offend anyone. The Kentucky Mule came later, once bartenders realized that bourbon's flavor profile—vanilla, caramel, char—actually complements ginger and lime instead of just sitting there like a well-behaved houseguest who doesn't contribute to the conversation.
This isn't a craft cocktail that requires seventeen ingredients and a smoking gun. It's three things mixed in a glass, which means each ingredient matters more than it would in something complicated. Use good ginger beer. Use real lime. Use bourbon that you'd actually drink neat. Do that, and you've got a drink that improves cookouts, justifies owning copper mugs, and gives you something to do with that bottle of bourbon you bought because the label looked nice.
The Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon (80-100 proof works best)
- ½ oz fresh lime juice
- 4-6 oz quality ginger beer (not ginger ale)
- Lime wheel for garnish
- Fresh mint sprig (optional, but recommended)
- Ice (crushed or cubed)
Equipment
- Copper mug or highball glass
- Jigger
- Bar spoon
- Citrus juicer
Instructions
- Fill your copper mug or highball glass with ice. If you're using crushed ice, pack it in. If you're using cubed, fill to the top.
- Pour 2 oz bourbon over the ice. Don't cheap out here—use something you'd drink on its own.
- Squeeze ½ oz fresh lime juice directly into the glass. Roll the lime on the counter first to break down the membranes and get more juice.
- Top with 4-6 oz ginger beer, depending on how strong you want it. Pour slowly to preserve the carbonation.
- Stir gently with a bar spoon—three or four rotations. You want to combine everything without killing the bubbles.
- Garnish with a lime wheel and a slapped mint sprig. Slap the mint between your hands first to release the oils.
- Serve immediately with a straw or without, depending on your stance on straws.
The Quick Version
Bourbon, lime, ginger beer, ice, copper mug. Stir once. Done.
The Details That Matter
Ginger Beer Selection
This drink lives or dies on the ginger beer, and most ginger beer is aggressively mediocre. You want something with actual ginger bite—the kind that makes you wince slightly on the first sip. Fever-Tree is the reliable choice: widely available, properly spicy, not too sweet. Q Ginger Beer is sharper and more botanical if you can find it. Bundaberg is the Australian option with serious ginger heat and a flavor that leans slightly earthier. Avoid anything that lists high fructose corn syrup in the first three ingredients. Avoid anything that tastes like ginger-flavored soda instead of actual ginger.
Bad ginger beer makes this drink taste like bourbon mixed with Sprite someone left out overnight. Good ginger beer makes it taste like something you'd order on purpose.
Ginger Beer vs Ginger Ale
They are not the same thing. Ginger ale is ginger-flavored soda—mild, sweet, what your grandmother gave you when you had an upset stomach. Ginger beer is fermented, spicier, with actual ginger bite. Using ginger ale in a Kentucky Mule is like using grape juice in a Manhattan. Technically possible, completely missing the point.
The Copper Mug Question
The copper mug is not strictly necessary. It does three things: looks good in photos, keeps the drink colder longer because copper conducts temperature well, and adds a slight metallic taste that some people claim enhances the drink. That last part is debatable. Use one if you have one—they're worth owning if you make these regularly—but a highball glass works perfectly fine. Just make sure whatever vessel you use is cold. Room temperature glassware makes room temperature drinks, and nobody wants that.
Lime: Juice Plus Wheel vs Just Juice
Fresh lime juice is mandatory. Bottled lime juice tastes like furniture polish and regret. Squeeze half a lime directly into the drink—about half an ounce—and save the other half for the next one. The lime wheel garnish isn't just decorative; it slowly releases more citrus oil as the drink sits, keeping the flavor balanced as the ice melts. Leave it in, squeeze it occasionally if you're drinking slowly.
Ice: Crushed vs Cubed
Crushed ice is traditional and makes the drink colder faster, but it also dilutes faster. Cubed ice keeps the drink stronger longer and melts more slowly, which matters if you're the kind of person who nurses drinks while arguing about baseball. Crushed is better for hot weather and parties. Cubed is better for bourbon drinkers who want the whiskey to stay present through the last sip. Both work. Pick based on how fast you drink.
Our Bourbon Picks
Best Overall: Buffalo Trace ($25-30)
The Goldilocks bourbon for this drink—not too high-proof, not too sweet, with enough vanilla and caramel to play nicely with ginger beer without getting lost. It's what most bars use when they're making Kentucky Mules correctly. The 90-proof keeps it present without overwhelming the ginger, and it's priced reasonably enough that you won't feel guilty making a pitcher.
Best Premium: Maker's Mark ($30-35)
The wheated bourbon brings more sweetness and less spice, which balances well against aggressive ginger beer. It's smoother than most bourbons at this price point, which matters in a drink where the bourbon isn't buried under bitters and vermouth. If you're making these for people who claim they don't like whiskey, start here.
Best Budget: Evan Williams Black Label ($15-18)
Proof that you don't need to spend thirty dollars to make a good Kentucky Mule. It's a solid, straightforward bourbon that does exactly what you need it to do—brings oak, vanilla, and a little char without drawing attention to itself. Save the expensive bottles for neat pours and use this for cocktails when you're making more than two.
Best High-Proof: Wild Turkey 101 ($25-28)
At 101 proof, this one doesn't disappear under the ginger beer. It's got more backbone, more spice, more presence—the drink tastes distinctly like bourbon instead of "sweet cocktail with whiskey somewhere in there." Use this if you want a Kentucky Mule that reminds you you're drinking bourbon.
Looking for these bottles? Check CWSpirits—they've got solid bourbon selection and ship to most states. Use code BOOZEMAKERS5 for 5% off your order.
What Our Panel Says
Marcus Chen, The Explorer: I made a pitcher of these for a rooftop cookout last July and they disappeared faster than the brisket. Nobody asked what was in them—they just kept coming back for refills. By the third round, someone had ordered copper mugs on Amazon. That's the sign of a good summer drink: when people start buying equipment so they can make it at home. I use Fever-Tree and Buffalo Trace, batch it in a big glass pitcher with a bunch of lime wheels floating in there, and let people pour their own over ice. Easier than making martinis for twelve people, tastes better than beer, and everyone leaves happy.
William Hayes, The Connoisseur: I'll admit I was skeptical. Bourbon in a "mule" sounded like something you'd get at a hotel bar where they don't know what rye is. But I had one at a distillery outside Bardstown—proper ginger beer, Maker's Mark, copper mug frosted from sitting in the freezer—and it made sense. The wheat in the Maker's softened the ginger bite without losing the bourbon's character. It's not a drink I'd order in February, but on a Derby Day porch when it's eighty-five degrees and you've already had two Old Fashioneds? It's exactly right. Simple drinks are only as good as their ingredients, which means this one forces you to use good bourbon and proper ginger beer. That's not a bad thing.
Sophia Laurent, The Host: This is my go-to pitcher cocktail for summer parties because it's basically impossible to screw up and everyone drinks it. I batch bourbon, lime juice, and a little simple syrup in a big pitcher, keep it in the fridge, then set out bottles of ginger beer and a bucket of ice so people can build their own. The copper mugs make it feel more special than pouring beer from a cooler, and the mint sprigs give people something to do with their hands while they're talking. Last Fourth of July, I went through three bottles of bourbon and nobody complained the next morning. That's the mark of a well-designed drink—tastes strong enough to feel like a cocktail, drinks easy enough that nobody makes regrettable decisions.
Variations Worth Trying
Mexican Mule
Swap bourbon for mezcal and add a pinch of smoked salt to the rim. The smokiness plays beautifully with ginger and lime, and you get the agave sweetness without losing the spice. Use a reposado mezcal if you want it approachable, joven if you want more smoke.
Spicy Kentucky Mule
Muddle two or three slices of jalapeño in the bottom of the glass before adding ice and bourbon. The capsaicin heat combines with the ginger heat and you get a drink that wakes you up. Don't use habanero unless you hate your guests.
Bourbon Buck
Add half an ounce of simple syrup and a dash of Angostura bitters to the standard recipe. It's slightly sweeter, slightly more complex, and the bitters tie everything together. This is the version you make when you're trying to impress someone who works in craft cocktails.
Ginger Bourbon Smash
Muddle fresh mint and a slice of fresh ginger in the bottom of the glass before building the drink. You get more herbal notes from the mint and more ginger bite from the actual ginger root. Doubles down on the ginger flavor, which isn't for everyone but works if you really like ginger.
Common Mistakes
Using Ginger Ale Instead of Ginger Beer
We covered this already, but it bears repeating: ginger ale is not ginger beer. Ginger ale is sweet soda. Ginger beer is spicy and fermented. The drink doesn't work with ginger ale. It just tastes like bourbon and Sprite, which is fine if you're twenty-two and at a house party, but it's not a Kentucky Mule.
Skipping Fresh Lime Juice
Bottled lime juice tastes like cleaning solution. Fresh lime juice tastes like lime. There's no shortcut here. Buy limes, cut them in half, squeeze them into the drink. It takes fifteen seconds and makes the difference between a cocktail and a mistake.
Overfilling with Ginger Beer
More is not better. If you use eight ounces of ginger beer in a standard glass, you've just made bourbon-flavored soda. Stick to four to six ounces depending on glass size. The bourbon should still taste like bourbon. If someone says "I can't even taste the alcohol," you've made it wrong.
Stirring Too Much
You're combining ingredients, not aerating a cocktail. Two or three gentle stirs with a bar spoon is enough. Vigorous stirring kills the carbonation, and flat ginger beer defeats the entire purpose of using ginger beer instead of ginger-flavored syrup.
Using Bottom-Shelf Bourbon
This isn't a Manhattan where the vermouth and bitters can hide bad whiskey. The bourbon is right there, front and center. You don't need to spend fifty dollars, but you do need to use something you'd willingly drink on its own. If you wouldn't pour it neat, don't put it in this cocktail.
Final Notes
The Kentucky Mule is proof that simple drinks are only simple when you do them right. Three ingredients means there's nowhere to hide—bad bourbon tastes bad, cheap ginger beer tastes cheap, and bottled lime juice tastes like regret. But when you use good ingredients and don't overthink it, you get a drink that's better than the sum of its parts. It's the kind of cocktail you can make in ninety seconds, serve to anyone, and watch them come back for another round.
Make it when it's hot. Make it when you're cooking out. Make it when you've got bourbon and no idea what to do with it besides pour it over ice. Just use real ginger beer, fresh lime, and bourbon that doesn't taste like punishment. Everything else is details.
