Monsoon Mule Recipe

Chill glass

Place a highball glass or mule mug in the freezer for 5–10 minutes or fill with ice to chill while preparing the cocktail.

Measure ingredients

Measure vodka, triple sec, lime juice, and simple syrup with a jigger. Rinse and pick blueberries for muddling and garnish.

Add 12 fresh blueberries to the cocktail shaker. Use a muddler to gently muddle the blueberries until they release juice but are not completely pulverized — aim for a few broken skins and about 1 tablespoon of juice.

Add vodka (2 oz), triple sec (0.5 oz), fresh lime juice (0.75 oz), and simple syrup (0.5 oz) to the shaker with the muddled blueberries.

Add 4 ice cubes to the shaker, secure the lid, and shake vigorously for about 12–15 seconds until the outside of the shaker is well chilled (the shake both chills and further integrates the blueberry).

Discard the ice from the chilled glass if used. Fill the serving glass with 1 cup of crushed ice (or crushed/packed ice to just under the rim).

Double-strain the shaken mixture into the prepared glass over the crushed ice to remove blueberry solids and seeds. Use both the shaker strainer and a fine mesh strainer if available.

Top the cocktail with 4 oz ginger beer. Pour gently to preserve carbonation and create a light froth on top.

Stir gently once with a bar spoon to integrate the ginger beer without flattening it.

Garnish with a lime wheel or wedge on the rim, skewer 6 blueberries on a cocktail pick and rest across the glass, and add an optional mint sprig for aroma.

Serve immediately with a straw if desired. Encourage the drinker to stir lightly before sipping to lift blueberry flavor from the bottom.

If making multiple cocktails, prepare the muddled base (blueberries, spirits, citrus, syrup) in batch, keep chilled, and top with ginger beer individually to preserve fizz.