Apple Cider Whiskey Mule

​This past Saturday, we attended the North Carolina Wine Festival in Raleigh. One of our featured cocktails was the Apple Cider Whiskey Mule and it was a huge hit, so we wanted to share the recipe with all of you. This cocktail is so versatile that it's perfect for any of your upcoming holiday parties. You can choose your whiskey and it can be served hot or cold. 
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CHOOSING YOUR WHISKEY

If you like a mule on the spicier side, we suggest using Boundary Street Rye Whiskey. Because rye is a spice-forward grain and ginger beer is a spiced beverage, they complement each other quite well for a more complex, spice-highlighted libation. 

​If you prefer your mule a little more on the mild side, we suggest Boundary Street Bourbon. Using bourbon allows the ginger beer and apple cider to showcase themselves as the front and center ingredients. 

If you prefer your mule on the sweet side with a little extra flavor, we suggest Boundary Street Maple. The maple flavor pairs exceptionally well with the flavors of the apple cider and sweetens the ginger beer, especially if you are inclined to use a spicier variety of ginger beer, which we will talk about a little later.


CHOOSING YOUR GINGER BEER

Your ginger beer choice depends on both the desired flavor of your Apple Cider Whiskey Mule, as well as the temperature in which you choose to serve it. 

If you want to serve it hot, you will want to go with a sweeter variety of ginger beer, like Bruce Cost Ginger Beer or Gosling's Ginger Beer. When ginger beer is heated up, it will enhance the spice and make it unbearable. Like the aforementioned options, any ginger beer that is more on the sweet side than the spicy side is going to offer much better results when heated. 

If you want to serve it cold, we suggest going with a spicier variety of ginger beer, like Fentiman's Ginger Beer or Q Ginger Beer. The spicier varieties keep your mule from getting too sweet when combined with the apple cider, as well as, offer complexities and complement the cinnamon stick garnish. 

Some other ginger beers that would work well in this cocktail include Fever Tree Ginger Beer and Bundaberg Ginger Beer. If ginger beer is too spicy for you, you can always substitute the ginger beer with any ginger ale. 


​CHOOSING YOUR APPLE CIDER

When choosing your apple cider, the only thing that matters is that you use an apple cider that is not already spiced. Because you are combining it with ginger beer which is a spiced beverage, you do not want to add more spice with your cider. Our favorite cider to use is Martinelli's. We found it at Ingles, but you can also purchase it on Amazon. 


​APPLE CIDER WHISKEY MULE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 parts Boundary St. Rye Whiskey, Boundary St. Bourbon OR Boundary St. Maple
• 4 parts non-spiced apple cider
• 6 parts ginger beer
• cinnamon sticks

Directions:
COLD

• Combine all ingredients in a high ball glass over ice, stir and garnish with a cinnamon stick and/or apple slices. If you choose to batch this cocktail for a crowd, combine all ingredients into a pitcher (we suggest foregoing the ice until you serve it in a glass as it will water it down and deplete the carbonation of the ginger beer). 

HOT

• Combine all ingredients in a crock pot OR sauce pan on the stove. Warm up and ladle into heat-safe glasses/cups, garnish with cinnamon stick and/or apple slices.

Cinnamon Stick Garnish
Cinnamon sticks can be expensive if you are serving a crowd. To save some money, we suggest adding cinnamon sticks to your mixture ahead of time to give it the same flavor profile. Remember with cinnamon that less is always more at first. Start with anywhere from 4-6 cinnamon sticks and allow them to soak for 5-10 minutes. Taste your mixture. If you could use some more cinnamon, add them 2 at a time and allow to soak again. Repeat until your desired flavor is achieved. 
If you are making multiple batches, we also suggest leaving the original cinnamon sticks in as they will still offer plenty of flavor. Again, test your mixture after 5-10 minutes and add more cinnamon if necessary.