Lavender Moscow Mule
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This Lavender Moscow Mule is a light and refreshing take on the classic cocktail. It’s made with ginger tea and a delicious lavender simple syrup–seriously a must-try cocktail recipe!
Say hello to one of the “fanciest” cocktails you’ll ever make: a lavender Moscow mule. This drink was 100% inspired by my trip to Puerto Rico, specifically from a drink I had at a bar called La Factoria. It was life-changing, and I knew immediately that I wanted to recreate it.
I knew I had to recreate it, so I hope you enjoy this homemade version!
Ingredient notes:
- Ginger tea – Use whatever kind you have in your pantry! And yes, I mean ginger tea bags (hot tea) not iced tea.
- Lavender – You can order culinary lavender online (I’m sure Amazon sells some), or you can find some at your local tea shop.
- Vodka – Moscow mule’s are typically made with vodka, but if you want a substitution, you could try gin or tequila.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Brew the tea. This step is fairly simple, but you’re going to boil water, then add two ginger tea bags to it and steep them for at least 5 minutes.
Step 2: Make the simple syrup. While the tea is steeping, you can make the simple syrup, which is really what gives this drink its incredible lavender flavor. Add water, sugar and lavender to a saucepan and bring them to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 1 minute. Lastly, pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer, which will remove the lavender buds.
Step 3: Refrigerate. Once the tea is good to go, remove the tea bags and stir in the lemon juice and simple syrup. Transfer the mixture to a large pitcher and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, or until it’s chilled to your liking.
Step 4: Add the alcohol. Each serving should be about 1 cup of the chilled lavender ginger tea, along with 2 oz. of vodka (or alcohol of choice). So, when you’re ready for a drink, simply fill a glass with ice and add the tea and vodka and stir to combine.
FAQs and Tips
- Feel free to adjust the amount of lemon juice to your liking
- Wait to add the alcohol in until you’re ready to serve these drinks; otherwise, if it sits in the refrigerator for awhile, the alcohol flavor (in this case, vodka flavor) will become overpowering.
Why does this recipe call for ginger tea instead of ginger beer?
Traditionally, Moscow mule’s are made with ginger beer. But, when I went to the La Factoria website, it mentions that the drink is made with ginger tea, and since I wanted to recreate the drink as best I could, that’s what I decided to use.
With that said, you can use ginger beer. However, I’ve found that ginger beer has a stronger ginger flavor than ginger tea, so keep that in mind.
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If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Lavender Moscow Mule
Ingredients
- 4 cups filtered water
- 2 ginger tea bags
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 8 oz. vodka, or alcohol of choice
for the simple syrup:
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp culinary lavender
Instructions
- Bring the 4 cups of filtered water to a boil. Then, transfer water to a large bowl (or keep it in the saucepan but remove it from the heat), and place the ginger tea bags into the water, letting it steep for at least 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the lavender simple syrup: add water, sugar and lavender to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and pour syrup through a fine mesh strainer.
- Remove the ginger tea bags, then stir in the lemon juice. Transfer tea to a large pitcher, then pour in the simple syrup. Give everything a good stir, then place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, allowing it to cool down.
- Before serving: Add ice to a cup, along with 1 cup of the chilled lavender ginger tea and 2 oz. of vodka, and stir until combined.
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in October 2015. It was updated with new text and photos in July 2020.
I live in Puerto Rico and I go to La Factoría a lot. That cocktail is one of my favorites there. A friend gave me some dried lavender as a gift, so I go online to look for a recipe to make one at home and I come across this site referencing the drink from the bar. How cool is that! Small world Jaja
It’s such a cool bar! Let me know if you try the drink.
As someone from Puerto Rico it makes me so happy to read about your time here. La Factoría is DEFINITELY an awesome place and their Lavender Mule is by far one of the most spectacular drinks I’ve ever tried. Thank you for sharing the recipe!! I’ll be trying this at home.
Is the lavender you use fresh or dried? My garden is exploding with fresh lavender flowers right now!!
I used dried lavender… I’ve never worked with fresh lavender so I can’t say for sure whether or not it’d work.
1.Thanks for posting this drink. I was thrilled to find the recipe after having these in PR on vacation! 2. I use fresh from my garden. I just use twice as much with fresh lavender. You can also dry the lavender and use it as the recipe calls for. I actually make a few jars of the lavender simple syrup since I have had friends who like to drink these all year round (also excellent for lemonade).
Yesssss — I’m glad you’re a lavender cocktail fan as much as I am! I bet it’s extra delicious with fresh lavender.
I know this post is over a year old but I had to tell you that my girlfriends and I went to Puerto Rico last month and had the Lavender Moscow Mule at La Factoria which is why I decided to google a recipe! So glad to have found your site and this recipe!
This is SO delayed (remaking a similar recipe now) and I just realized that I also went to La Factoria and that’s where I got the inspiration for this recipe. Small world! They have the best cocktails there.
This looks awesome. Never thought of using lavendar in a Mule…very curious to see how it blends with the ginger beer. Thanks for recreating this…its on our “to do” list for the weekend. 🙂