The bright, citrusy orange juice and tangy lime pair perfectly with sweet, piney rosemary simple syrup, crisp vodka, and ginger beer to make this Rosemary Citrus Moscow Mule a cocktail that is perfectly tangy, sweet, and delicious.
I love a good moscow mule in the winter (or two!). The warming ginger and crisp vodka seem to warm you through, despite that fact that this drink is usually served ice cold in a copper mug. So when a dear friend recently gifted us with some lovely new Moscow mule mugs, I knew they deserved a special recipe to celebrate.
This Rosemary Citrus Moscow Mule brings together one of my favorite herbs for infusing cocktails in the wintertime, woodsy rosemary. With a slight sweetness and a mellow, herby pine flavor, rosemary just feels comforting to me. Plus, I have a big rosemary plant that comes in from my patio to hang out in our warm, sunny kitchen over the winter, so I always seem to use so much more of it when it is right there staring at me every day.
Rosemary is perfect with savory roasted chicken, crispy potatoes, or even mixed into sausage gravy (don’t believe me, try these White Cheddar Biscuit Waffles with Rosemary Sausage Gravy), but it also shines as the star of many cocktails – especially when paired with sweet cara cara orange juice in this Rosemary Citrus Moscow Mule.
How Do You Make Rosemary Citrus Moscow Mules?
For these Rosemary Citrus Moscow Mules, I wanted to take advantage of some of the great citrus fruit that is available this time of year. I have to admit, that while I always liked oranges and other citrus fruits, until recently, I never really gave them the credit they deserve. In the winter, when all of the fun spring and summer fruits seem to be out of season, citrus fruits really shine. And lately, I’m obsessed!
The grocery stores seem to be overflowing with great citrus fruit options. There are mandarin oranges, clementines, blood oranges, grapefruits, of course lemons and limes, and cara cara oranges, which I used in this Rosemary Citrus Moscow Mule recipe.
To balance out the sweet, citrusy flavor, I added a rosemary simple syrup, made by simply steeping rosemary in hot simple syrup, then letting it sit for a couple of hours to chill and infuse. Finally, I kept the traditional Moscow mule ingredients including crisp vodka, a squeeze of tangy fresh lime juice, and bubbly ginger beer.
What Are Cara Cara Oranges?
Cara cara oranges are a type of navel orange that is actually believed to have developed as a spontaneous bud mutation on a Washington navel orange tree. (Isn’t nature cool?!)
Cara cara oranges are a medium sized orange, that look much like a regular orange on the outside. But, inside is bright pink flesh with an incredible sweet citrus flavor. Cara cara oranges are lower in acid than other citrus, allowing you to taste the sweet, almost berry like tones of the fruit.
Recently, I have been seeing cara cara oranges in most grocery stores, but if you can’t find them, you can also substitute regular oranges or blood oranges in this Rosemary Citrus Moscow Mule. No matter what orange you use, what is most important is to make sure you use fresh squeezed orange juice. The fresh juice will give a fresh, lighter flavor that allows the rosemary and ginger to come through.
Looking for some other cocktail recipes to keep you warm on chilly winter days? Check out some of my favorites:
- Apple Cider Moscow Mule – with apple cider and warming ginger, this is a perfect fall or winter cocktail
- Raspberry Lemon Champagne Cocktail – a splash of champagne can always cheer you up on a gloomy winter day
- Easy Palomas by the Pitcher – because if you can’t be somewhere warm, you can at least pretend with a beachy cocktail, right?
- Spicy Blood Orange Margarita – again, let’s pretend we are on a sunny beach together – plus that spicy jalapeno simple syrup is sure to help warm you up
What is your favorite winter cocktail? Let me know in the comments below.
Rosemary Citrus Moscow Mule
Ingredients
For the Rosemary Moscow Mule
- 2 oz vodka
- 2 oz fresh sqeezed cara cara orange juice
- 1 oz lime juice
- 1 oz rosemary simply syrup (see below)
- 3 oz ginger beer
Rosemary Simply Syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ sugar
- 2 sprigs rosemary
Instructions
To Make the Simple Syrup
- add sugar and water to a small pot over medium high heat, stir and bring to boil. Cook just a minute until sugar is dissolved. While syrup is hot, add 2 sprigs rosemary (whole) and stir. Let cool slightly then transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate about 2 hours. After two hours, you can remove the rosemary and use as desired.
To Make Cocktail
- Fill a tall glass or copper mug with ice. Add the vodka, orange juice, lime juice, and rosemary simple syrup, top with ginger beer, and stir. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary if desired.