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This four-ingredient apple cider mule mocktail 🍎 is a must-make. It’s simple, refreshing, and perfect for fall. I like to call it a “harvest mule” because it captures all the cozy flavors of the season in a single glass. With crisp apple cider, bold ginger beer, and a splash of citrus, it’s the ideal drink for any autumn gathering. For more easy nonalcoholic cocktail recipes, try my apple cider margarita mocktail, Hugo Spritz, and sleepy girl mocktail.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Apple Cider Mule Mocktail Recipe
Here are some science-backed reasons to make a mocktail, not a cocktail!
1. Better Sleep: Alcohol disrupts deep sleep cycles.
2. Boosts Immunity: Alcohol weakens the immune system over time.
3. Sharper Focus: Skipping the alcohol gives you a clearer mind and improved concentration.
4. Heart Health: Reducing alcohol intake reduces blood pressure and heart disease risk.
5. No Hangovers: Enjoy your mornings without the fog.
🍹 Apple Cider Mule Mocktail Ingredients
- Apple Cider for that fall apple flavor
- Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey to keep it alcohol-free
- Lime Juice to balance the sweetness
- Maple Syrup if you prefer a sweeter drink
- Ginger Beer for that spicy ginger kick
- Garnish: Apple slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise
👩🍳 How to Make an Apple Cider Mule Mocktail
- Make the Zero-Proof Mule: Pour the nonalcoholic whiskey, apple cider, lime juice, and maple syrup, if desired, into an ice-filled glass. Top it off with ginger beer.
- Garnish your mocktail with an apple slice and cinnamon stick or star anise.
📹 Watch me make this easy nonalcoholic apple mule.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- How to Batch Virgin Apple Cider Mules: Multiply the ingredients by however many people you’re serving, and pour all the ingredients into a pitcher. To serve, fill the glasses with ice, pour in the mule, and add the garnishes.
- Glasses: Moscow Mules are traditionally served in copper mugs, but you can use any cocktail glasses you have. Some of my favorite glasses are here.
🗒 Variations
- Juice: Swap apple cider with cranberry or pomegranate juice for more fall mule variations.
🗒 Substitutions
- 🧃 Juice: Apple cider has a stronger flavor than apple juice, but you could use juice in a pinch.
- 🫚 Ginger Beer: I recommend ginger beer for a bolder ginger taste, but you could try it with ginger ale.
- 🍋 Citrus: Substitute lemon juice.
- 🍯 Sweetener: Use honey instead of maple.
- 🥃 Apple Moscow Mule Cocktail: Swap the NA whiskey with regular whiskey or bourbon. Tequila or vodka would also be good.
👝 How to Store
The spiced mule is best consumed after mixing since the ginger beer will go flat if stored. If you’re batching the mocktail for a party and want to make them in advance, combine all the ingredients except for the ginger beer the day before, cover the pitcher, and refrigerate. Then, add the ginger beer right before serving.
🤔 Common Questions
Apple cider, which contains apples and no added sugar, is not just apple juice. It’s unfiltered, so its color is darker, and its flavor is stronger. It’s often unpasteurized, meaning it has a shorter shelf life and must be refrigerated.
Ginger beer is nonalcoholic. It’s a sparkling ginger beverage that is excellent in various mocktails and cocktails. Betty Buzz is my favorite brand, and I love it mixed with pineapple juice for a simple, refreshing drink. 🍍
Apple Cider Mule Mocktail
Ingredients
- Ice
- 3 ounces apple cider
- 2 ounces Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative
- ½ ounce lime juice
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup, optional for extra sweetness
- 3 ounces ginger beer
- Apple slices and a cinnamon stick or star anise, for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a copper mule mug (or glass) with ice.
- Pour in nonalcoholic whiskey, apple cider, and lime juice.
- Stir in the maple syrup for a touch of sweetness.
- Top it off with ginger beer.
- Stir gently and garnish with apple slices and a cinnamon stick or star anise.
