Mexican Mule
Build ∙ 2 min ∙ 12.7% ABV ∙
The Mexican Mule is a tequila reposado highball built with lime juice and sugar syrup, then topped with ginger ale over ice. Crushed ice keeps every sip crackling and cold, sharp citrus tang balancing a mellow oak-tinged warmth that lingers softly through a fizzy, refreshing finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Pour the first 3 ingredients: Tequila reposado 60 mlLime juice 15 mlSugar syrup 10 ml into a mug or glass and briefly stir
- Fill the glass 2/3 full with cubed ice
- Top with Ginger ale and briefly stir
- Fill the glass with a crown of crushed ice
- Garnish with a lime wheel and mint sprigs
Tips
- Pre-chill the glass so the first pour stays cold before the ice even goes in, keeping the ginger ale's fizz livelier.
- Top with the crushed ice crown right before serving so it doesn't melt into the drink and dilute the ginger ale too fast.
History
The Mexican Mule is a tequila-based twist on the Mule family of ginger beer highballs, swapping tequila for the original's vodka. No single bartender or bar is credited with creating it; it emerged as bartenders and home mixologists adapted the format to other spirits, with tequila versions circulating under names like Mexican Mule or Tequila Mule.
Its direct parent, the Moscow Mule, is generally credited to a 1941 meeting in Los Angeles between Smirnoff vodka executive John Martin and Cock 'n' Bull ginger beer proprietor Jack Morgan, who combined their two struggling products with lime juice to help promote both; the exact circumstances and other figures involved in that story are disputed among various accounts. The Mexican Mule keeps that ginger beer and lime formula but replaces the vodka with tequila, giving the drink an agave-forward character in place of the original's neutral spirit base.
FAQ
What is in a Mexican Mule?
Tequila reposado, fresh lime juice, sugar syrup, and ginger ale, built over ice and garnished with a lime wheel and mint sprigs. It is served in a Collins glass topped with a crown of crushed ice.
How do you make a Mexican Mule?
Stir the tequila reposado, lime juice, and sugar syrup together in a chilled glass, fill two-thirds with cubed ice, then top with ginger ale and stir briefly. Finish with a crown of crushed ice on top and garnish with a lime wheel and mint sprigs.
What is the difference between a Moscow Mule and a Mexican Mule?
A Moscow Mule is built on vodka, while a Mexican Mule swaps in tequila reposado, giving it an agave and oak character instead of a neutral spirit base. Both share the lime juice and ginger fizz structure, but this build also adds sugar syrup to balance the lime.
What tequila is best for a Mexican Mule?
Tequila reposado is the base this recipe calls for, since its light oak aging adds a rounder, slightly caramelized note that stands up well to the ginger ale. A blanco tequila works too but drinks sharper and more purely agave-forward, with less of the mellowing warmth reposado brings.
