My favorite drink used to be a Big Ginger. It’s a Twin Cities drink that two local Irish bars (under the same ownership) made famous. The Big Ginger is Jameson, ginger ale and a squeeze of lemon and lime. In fact, I’ve heard (although been able to verify) a rumor that these two bars were the largest sellers of Jameson in the country. The drink became so popular that they now have their own Irish whiskey made (in Ireland) called 2 Gingers. It’s a great refreshing summer cocktail and was pretty much my staple. Then my husband and his buddy ended up in Denver together for a work trip and went out to the Yard House in Denver for drinks. They make a homemade ginger beer and then pair it with Jameson, serve it in copper mugs and call it an Irish Mule. Sounds similar right? Wrong – it takes the Big Ginger and kicks it up a notch!
After hearing Derek talk about this drink, I knew I had to try it. I even decided to go all the way and make homemade ginger beer to go with them. I’ll post that in a couple days, but any store bought ginger beer will work well too. My mom even had some copper mugs that she gave me. This takes my favorite pairing of Irish whiskey and ginger to an entirely new level. The homemade ginger beer packs a more potent ginger flavor than ginger ale, the drink is almost spicy. I was so excited I couldn’t stop talking about it – including Monday morning at work telling all my co-workers. Who were probably pretty surprised since most know I’m generally not a big drinker.
Here’s what you need:
The copper mugs really do something special to this drink. Try it with whatever you have on hand, but if you love it consider investing in some copper mugs. They absorb the cold from the ice and there is something about putting your lips up to that ice cold mug that adds to the drink itself.
Start by muddling a few mint leaves with the juice of half a lime in the bottom of the mug.
Fill the glasses most of the way with ice. Then add an ounce of irish whiskey, like Jameson.
Top off with ginger beer -it was probably about 5-6 ounces for me – and stir.
Garnish with some more fresh mint, and enjoy!
You’ll love the sweet and spicy flavor and the mellow flavor of the Irish whiskey.
- 3 mint leaves + more for garnish
- Juice of ½ a lime
- ice
- 1 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
- 5-6 oz ginger beer
- Muddle the mint leaves and the lime juice in the bottom of a copper mug.
- Fill the glasses about three-quarters of the way with ice.
- Add the whiskey and the ginger beer and stir.
- Garnish with mint leaves and enjoy.
[…] just posted my new favorite drink – the Irish Mule. And to really take this drink over the top, I recommend trying a homemade ginger beer. […]