Jamaican Mule

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Cocktail History

The Jamaican Mule is a modern cocktail that was created by Jelani Johnson at the Clover Club in New York City, New York. It’s considered a tiki take on the vodka-based classic Moscow Mule that swaps out the base spirit for rum, substitutes a house-made ginger syrup in place of ginger beer, and adds pineapple and bitters to complement the other flavors.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Dark Rum: This is a type of rum made with sugarcane, spices, and water that has been barrel aged for a long period of time. I used Appleton Estate Special Gold Rum.

Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger, white sugar, gum arabic powder, and water. I made mine using this sous vide recipe.

Lime Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lime. I used freshly squeezed lime juice.

Pineapple Juice: This is the liquid juice of a pineapple. I used fresh pineapple juice.

Aromatic Bitters: This is a food product made with botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. I used Angostura Aromatic Bitters.

Candied Ginger: This is a slice of dried ginger root that has been rolled in sugar.

Lime Slice: This is a slice of lime that has been cut into a half wheel shape.

Orchid Blossom: This is the flower of an orchid plant.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Chef’s Knife: This is used to cut larger fruits and vegetables into slices for the garnish. I used the OXO Good Grips 8-Inch Chef’s Knife.

Pineapple Corer: This is used to remove the core of the pineapple before it’s juiced. I used the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Pineapple Corer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus, fruits, and vegetables. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer for the lime and the Hamilton Beach Large Juicer for the pineapple.

Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. I used one from the Homestia Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Golden orange color

• Aroma: Ginger and spices

• Taste: Spicy rum and ginger flavor balanced by pineapple and citrus

• Finish: More ginger spice notes

Kendall’s Take: “This cocktail is tiki with an Asian kick! Ginger is definitely the most prevalent flavor, which to be honest had me wanting Asian food after a few sips. Overall, I found the Jamaican Mule to certainly be delicious and spicy and different, but I don’t see myself drinking it again. I think I still prefer the more traditional tiki cocktails made with a bit less ginger.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was found in the book Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes by Chloe Frechette.