Pomegranate Mule Cocktail Recipe

The Pomegranate Mule is a tart and fresh gin cocktail made with fresh pomegranate, lime juice, and mint. The drink gets topped with ginger beer for a punch of flavor and fizz. 

This is a riff on a Buck cocktail, a category of highball-style drinks made with a base spirit, citrus juice, and ginger beer or ale. Either ginger ale or beer can be used in a buck, but the use of spicier ginger beer here helps balance out some of the more fruit-forward notes in the cocktail.

Developed by bartender Kaitlyn Stewart, the Pomegranate Mule leans on fresh pomegranate arils for a burst of tart, sweet, and fruity flavors. To release the pomegranate juices from the arils, Stewart uses a simple method of muddling the arils against the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Shaking the mint with the cocktail helps release the flavor of the leaves. 

Why the Pomegranate Mule works

Herbaceous gin is the ideal base for this fruit-forward cocktail; it blends seamlessly with the puckery notes of lime and fresh pomegranate juice, and warming ginger beer adds a welcome bite. 

A lower-ABV cocktail compared to many classic cocktails enjoyed around the holidays, the Pomegranate Mule is largely composed of fresh juices and ginger beer, making it the perfect drink for anyone more sensitive to gin’s alcoholic bite.  

For the classic mule aesthetic, serve this drink in a copper mug, and garnish with additional fresh mint and pomegranate arils.