The Spanish Mule is variant of the more familiar Moscow Mule which mixes spicy ginger beer with Vodka and uses a lime garnish. The Spanish Mule simply replaces the Vodka with Dark Rum. Now if this sounds to you suspiciously like a Dark ‘N Stormy, you would be almost right. Almost, because the aforementioned Dark ‘N Stormy is one of the few rum cocktails in existence which has been granted a Trademark license (the other that I know of is the Pain Killer Cocktail).
Creating a trademark around a cocktail is a tricky business, and in the case of the Dark ‘N Stormy, the trademark granted apparently provides Gosling’s Rum Company, and only Gosling’s Rum Company the right to set the ingredients for this particular Cocktail. Without getting into things too deeply, what this basically means is that if a this bar drink is made with Gosling’s Rum, then and only then is it properly called a Dark ‘N Stormy. If any other rum is used, the cocktail should be given a different name, especially if the bar drink is used for a commercial purpose.
For that reason, I choose to call my version of the serving a Spanish Mule as this tends to eliminate any confusion as to what the libation is, and this stops any potential lawsuit from coming my way. (And to be fair, I expect people to respect my rights under copyright so it is only fair that I respect the trademark rights of others as well.)
This is the simplest of Spanish Mule recipes. I am mixing a very nice Anejo Rum, Brugal Superior, with a new non-alcoholic Ginger Beer that I have recently become acquainted with, The Great Jamaican Old Tyme Ginger Beer. Old Tyme is not as spicy as many other ginger beers which makes it a perfect accompaniment for this young (but tasty) Anejo Rum.
Please enjoy the Serve!
Spanish Mule
2 oz Brugal Anejo Superior Rum
3 oz Old Tyme Ginger Beer
ice
Slice of Lime
Add Ice to a Rocks Glass
Add the Rum over ice
Top with Ginger Beer
Stir
Garnish with a lime slice
Enjoy Responsibly!
If you are interested in more of my cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!
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Note my new review for Brugal Anejo Superior Rum will publish tomorrow!
Cocktails are not dinosaurs however, and the Margarita has never shown any sign of disappearing. And in fact, the two cocktails are different enough that perhaps there is room for both on the Cocktail Menu. The first difference is that Margaritas are almost always made with lime juice, whereas the Picador can be made with either lemon or lime juice (or even both). The second difference is that the Margarita is meant to be served in a salt rimmed glass. The Picador (at least in its original form) is served sans salt. So I say, in much the same way that those aforementioned paleontologists are now finally saying, there is room for both. Small differences in structure are still differences. If we make the libation with lime and salt rimmed glasses we have made a Margarita. If we serve the bar drink without a salt rim (or made with lemon juice) we have made a Picador.
This recipe is based (loosely) upon the Fancy Whiskey Cocktail presented in Leo Engels 1878 book, American and Other Drinks.
Saffron has a peculiar flavour which is sort of like dry grassy hay with strong floral aromatics. It does in fact remind me (in a very passing kind of way) of insect repellent, and mixing a cocktail with this ingredient was very challenging. I was sent various recipes by the Canadian distributor; but every one of those servings called for other exotic ingredients which I don’t keep in my home bar. I did though, arrive at a recipe construction of my own which I found absolutely delightful.
The Rum Howler Blog 