A non-alcoholic twist on a classic cocktail, this Virgin Moscow Mule features cool, refreshing lime and warm, spicy ginger beer for a delicious virgin drink that’s both refreshing and cozy. The perfect holiday mocktail pick-me-up!

Moscow mule mocktail garnished with lime in a copper mug

An Easy Ginger Beer Mocktail

I love making mocktails and cocktails at home! You can take your favorite drinks and control exactly what goes into them. Adjusting how sweet or tart it is, adding fun twists and really getting creative about mixing up the flavors. It also makes it easy to take your favorite cocktail recipes and turning them into mocktail versions.

This Moscow mule mocktail has become my favorite among non-alcoholic drinks – especially during a recent pregnancy. While the mint, ginger, and lime each help with nausea on their own, combining them in this mocktail was a great way to help my all day morning sickness.

This virgin version is of course inspired by the traditional Moscow mule cocktail, which is typically made with ginger beer, vodka, and fresh lime juice, and served over ice in a copper mug. For this new recipe I swapped the vodka for a non-alcoholic botanical blend, selected one of my favorite ginger beers, and made a homemade lime simple syrup to amp up the zesty citrus flavor and add a touch of sweetness as well.

If you aren’t familiar with botanicals, I highly recommend trying out Wilderton Lustre. It has undertones of lavender, tarragon, and bitter orange which adds a depth of flavor to your virgin cocktails and make you forget that anything is even “missing”.

While this mocktail began as my favorite anti-nausea pregnancy drink, it’s also the perfect mocktail to sip on for the holiday season. It’s a great option to have at parties for those who don’t drink alcohol but it’s easy enough to turn it into a cocktail for those who do with a single shot of vodka.

What You’ll Need

All you need is four simple ingredients for this flavorful and easy virgin mule!!

Lime simple syrup – Infuses the citrus flavor into the drink. You can easily make your own as I share in this recipe.
Ginger beer – Be sure to use a non-alcoholic version like Fever Tree ginger beer.
Wilderton Lustre – This is a botanical blend with tarragon, orange and lavender flavors that really improves the flavor of this drink. Optional but highly recommended.
Ice – You can use crushed ice or ice cubes.
Lime wedges and fresh mint leaves – For an optional garnish.

Recommended Kitchen Tools

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large glass jar, pitcher, or cocktail shaker
copper Moscow Mule mugs (optional)

How to Make a Virgin Moscow Mule

This non-alcoholic moscow mule is one of the easiest mocktails to make. You can have two of these ready in just minutes.

Simple syrup being poured into a mason jar

Combine the ingredients. Combine the lime simple syrup, ginger beer, and botanicals in a shaker or mason jar.
Shake. Shake all ingredients well.
Pour over ice. Pour the ingredients over ice in two copper mugs.
Serve. Garnish with a lime wedge and a mint sprig if desired and serve.

Tips for Success

This virgin Moscow mule is pretty straightforward but there are still a few things to keep in mind.

Be sure to grab a non-alcoholic ginger beer. While many ginger beers do not contain alcohol, there are a few brands that do. Just double check the bottle before grabbing it.
Make the simple syrup ahead of time. Since you’ll be using homemade lime simple syrup to make this virgin cocktail, be sure to prepare it ahead of time. It needs to cool completely before being added to your drink.
Don’t skip the botanical blend. Wilderton Lustre is my secret to making the BEST mocktails around and it definitely takes this one up several notches. If you can’t get your hands on that particular brand, look for a similar one. It’s worth searching for, trust me!

Mocktail Variations

If you want to switch up this recipe a bit, here are a few different flavors to try.

Use ginger ale. For a sweeter cocktail, swap out the ginger beer for ginger ale.
Make it extra festive. Pomegranate arils can be added as a garnish to make this drink even more suited to the holiday season.
Switch up the garnishes. Cucumber makes a great garnish, especially for a summer twist.
Use other simple syrups. You can easily swap out the lime simple syrup for mint simple syrup, if you prefer more of a mint flavor throughout. Just add more lime to the cocktail itself. You can also make ginger simple syrup, if you prefer a spicy twist.
Add sparkling water. To make this ginger mocktail extra fizzy, add a splash of sparkling water to top off the glass.

Serving Suggestions

The best moscow mules are traditionally served in a copper cup but if you don’t have them, don’t worry. They’re helpful for keeping the mocktail cold but, honestly, these are so good you probably won’t run into a problem! You can serve your virgin Moscow mule over crushed ice or ice cubes, whichever you prefer.

I like to enjoy this festive drink anytime of the day, but it’s especially good as brunch time alternative to a classic mimosa or a heavy bloody mary.

Make Ahead Virgin Moscow Mules

Part of the fun of making your own mocktails at home is that you get to make them exactly how you like them. You might want an extra splash of lime juice, while your best friend’s definition of a delicious cocktail might be a super sweeter concoction.

However, if you want to mix these up in advance, you can. Combine all the ingredients and shake, but don’t pour over ice until you are ready to serve.

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