M is for: Mexican Mule

I love me a good Moscow Mule.

But, I have a confession to make: I’m sort of a copper cup snob.

Before ordering a mule at a bar or restaurant, I may or may not first ask if they serve theirs in copper mugs. (I know, how very high maintenance of me).

But seriously, they are SOOO much better in a copper cup. I don’t know why, they just are. They stay so cold and delicious and you just feel really cool drinking them.

In fact, I love the copper mugs so much, I ordered a set to enjoy at home.

Recently though, I’ve started to stray away from vodka in general. Gin is sort of my go-to at the moment (see, French 75). And I’m also loving tequila. Enter… the Mexican Mule.

Here, I must give a shout out to my friend, Matt Abrams, who has become a master mixologist in his spare time. He made these at my house recently and had dropped a cut up jalapeno pepper into a bottle of tequila to infuse some spice into it. I wasn’t ready to commit to an entire bottle of jalapeno tequila, so instead, I just muddled some in the bottom of a shaker with some lime juice. The jalapeno isn’t necessarily required for the making of a Mexican Mule, but it does add a hint of spice which I loved.

From there, you can add ice and tequila and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds.

*Edit: After making these a few times now, I can say that not all jalapenos are created equal. Some are verrrrry spicy, so muddle with caution. I’d start with 1 slice in your first batch and see how it goes. You can always add more but you cannot take away burning lips. 🙂

Strain the shaker contents into your ice-filled copper mugs and top off with ginger beer. If you want, you can throw another slice or two of jalapeno into your glass and garnish with a lime, jalapeno and piece of crystalized ginger if you’re feeling all fancy. (Which, you should, because you’re drinking out of a copper cup). Cheers!