Kombucha Mule

Regardless of how you feel about kombucha, there's no denying that this fizzy, highly acidic probiotic beverage makes for a surprisingly versatile cocktail ingredient. If you just so happen to have seven to ten days to spare, you can carefully whip your own kombucha at home, but we've been happily experimenting with some of the newest players in the space, like Yesfolk, United Ferments, and Heirloom. In this cocktail, which is a simple riff on the classic Moscow Mule, kombucha replaces the equally bold flavor of ginger beer to create a pleasantly refreshing spritz for year-round sipping. Often served in iconic copper mugs, the Moscow Mule traditionally calls for freshly squeezed lime juice, vodka, and ginger beer; we found that using mezcal instead of vodka works especially well in the kombucha version of the classic, which benefits from the additional smoky notes.

While you might be tempted to use a coupe or even a highball glass here, the iconic Moscow Mule copper mug helps keep this cocktail nice and cool for an extended period of time, without added dilution from melting ice. Using freshly cut ginger as the garnish brings the ginger flavor back into the Kombucha Mule with no muddling required. To achieve a perfectly bubbly Mule, be sure to top your drink with club soda, not tonic –– the latter will added unwanted bitter and sweet flavors, as a result of quinine, which is a core ingredient of tonic. As always: freshly squeezed lime juice (not the bottled stuff) is the way to go when making any kind of cocktail, and the Kombucha Mule is no exception.