Make this Skinny Moscow Mule by using your own ginger syrup, seltzer, and vodka for a lot less sugar and calories than the original. Using homemade ginger simple syrup will allow you to adjust the amount of sweetness and cut down on the overall calories of this delicious drink.
A few years back my husband told me about this drink he had served in a special copper mug called a Moscow Mule. I'm sure many of you have already heard now a hugely popular vodka-based cocktail made with ginger beer and lime.
When I tried it, I loved the flavor, and though we didn't have the special copper mugs, we often enjoy this refreshing drink, especially in the summertime. The only problem I find is that there are a lot of calories in ginger beer. We tried diet ginger ale but it doesn't have the same taste like ginger beer.
So I went on a quest to try to make something that was similar but with fewer calories.
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Alternative to Ginger Beer
The solution. I made my own ginger syrup. It's really easy. Just make a simple syrup with slices of fresh ginger. I typically use one cup of sugar, one cup of water, and one cup of sliced fresh ginger. Bring it to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then remove it from the heat and let steep for about 20 minutes or more. Strain the ginger out and keep the syrup in a bottle in the refrigerator. The syrup should last about a month in the fridge.
The fresh ginger is pretty strong so you really don't need much of the syrup to get great flavor. You can also try using honey instead of ordinary white sugar to make this skinny Moscow mule drink.
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I haven't tried this with any other sugar substitutes but you could try using Swerve
to make your own ginger syrup as seen in this Grapefruit Ginger Fizz cocktail.
Don't have time to make the ginger syrup? You can buy it online
. The key is to make sure to use as little as you can, to get the flavor you like, without all the extra sugar and calories.
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Skinny Moscow Mule Cocktail
Ingredients
Skinny Moscow Mule
- 1.5 oz Vodka
- 2.5 Tablespoons Ginger Simple Syrup
- Seltzer Water
- 1/2 lime
- Ice
Ginger Simple Syrup
- 1 cup peeled and sliced fresh ginger root
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Ginger Simple Syrup
- Make a ginger simple syrup by combining fresh ginger, water, and sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Bring to a boil and stir until all of the sugar has dissolved.
- Then remove from heat and let it steep for 20 minutes or more.
- Strain the ginger from the liquid and use or bottle it and keep it in the refrigerator.
Skinny Moscow Mule Cocktail
- Place equal parts vodka and ginger syrup in a glass.
- Squeeze the juice of half a lime in and add the lime wedge.
- Fill with ice.
- Top off with lemon/lime seltzer water.
DeAnna
How do you make the ginger syrup?
Patti Estep
Hi DeAnna,
I typically use one cup of sugar, one cup of water and one cup of sliced fresh ginger. Bring it to boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then remove it from the heat and let steep for about an hour. Strain the ginger out and keep in a bottle the refrigerator.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I need to update the post to include these instructions.
You don't need much of the syrup for the drink to taste good. You can also make a simple syrup with honey.
Hope that helps!
Patti
Janice
How much honey would I use to replace sugar?
Patti Estep
I have never tried making a simple syrup with honey but my guess would be to keep it the same. Equal parts of honey to water.
Emily
I also can't wait for you to make these at the beach!
Patti
🙂