Two brown spirits, one bright sour and a streak of Campari red. Baked apple from the applejack, vanilla from the bourbon and a bitter orange finish make this far more interesting than its folksy name suggests.
1 oz
bourbone.g. Maker's Mark · Buffalo Trace · Woodford Reserve · Wild Turkey · Jim Beam
1 oz
applejack or apple brandye.g. Laird's
¾ oz
lemon juice
½ oz
CampariBuy on Amazon →
½ oz
triple sece.g. Cointreau · Bols · Marie Brizard · DeKuyper · Giffard
Garnish: Lemon twist · Ice: Served up, no ice
Missouri Mule
Tart and fruity with baked apple, vanilla and bitter orange. Medium-bodied and fairly strong, with a dry, bitter finish.
The Missouri Mule takes its name from the mule, the hardy work animal that Missouri is famous for and that became its official state animal. The drink is often associated with Harry S. Truman, Missouri's best-known politician, but the details of that connection are hard to pin down, and no firmly documented origin story exists.
What is clear is its structure. It follows the logic of the classic sour, with lemon juice and orange liqueur, but splits the base between bourbon and applejack, the American apple brandy with a long history in New Jersey and the Northeast. Campari adds color and a bitter finish that ties the fruit and the whiskey together. The result sits somewhere between a Whiskey Sour and a Jack Rose with an aperitivo accent.
Only by name. The Moscow Mule is a vodka and ginger beer highball; the Missouri Mule is a shaken sour with bourbon and applejack.
Calvados or another good apple brandy is the best substitute.
It contains 60 ml of base spirit plus liqueurs, so it is a strong drink served in a small glass.
The perfect sound
Midwestern charm with a bouncing piano.
Reader rating
Thanks for rating
Updated:
