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Buck

Style

A buck cocktail is a spirit with lime and ginger beer or ginger ale, served over ice.

Also called: mule · mule drink

Moscow Mule (Difford's)
2 oz (60 ml) vodka, 0.5 oz (15 ml) lime juice, 3 oz (90 ml) ginger beer
Moscow Mule created
Between 1941 and 1946, place disputed
Formula
2 oz (60 ml) spirit, 0.5 oz (15 ml) lime or lemon juice, 3 to 4 oz (90 to 120 ml) ginger beer or ginger ale, over ice

What buck means

Ginger is what sets a buck apart from a highball. Lime gives the drink its sour edge, and the ginger mixer sets the flavor. Nothing else in the build needs sugar, so the drink stays simple. Ginger ale and ginger beer are the two mixers you will see most often in a buck.

The Moscow Mule is the buck that most people know. Difford's builds it with 2 oz (60 ml) vodka, 0.5 oz (15 ml) lime juice and 3 oz (90 ml) ginger beer. It was created between 1941 and 1946, and the place is disputed. Mules are not always vodka. A Kentucky Mule swaps the vodka for bourbon, and the same build holds.

One popular idea is that a mule must come in a copper mug. The copper mug came from 1940s marketing for the Moscow Mule, so a buck does not need one. Early bucks used ginger ale, which was spicier then than most today.

How to make a buck

Build it in the glass: spirit and lime over ice, then topped with chilled ginger beer or ginger ale.

  1. 1.Fill a copper mug or highball glass with ice.
  2. 2.Add 2 oz (60 ml) spirit and 0.5 oz (15 ml) fresh lime juice.
  3. 3.Top with 3 to 4 oz (90 to 120 ml) chilled ginger beer, which bites more than ginger ale, and stir once.

Buck compared

  • MuleA mule is a buck made with ginger beer and lime, named after the Moscow Mule.
  • HighballA highball leaves out the citrus. A buck adds lime and always uses ginger ale or ginger beer.
  • RickeyA rickey is spirit, lime and soda water with no sugar. A buck swaps the soda for ginger ale or ginger beer.
  • CollinsA Collins is spirit, lemon, sugar and soda water. A buck gets its sweetness and spice from ginger.

Examples

  • Moscow Mule
  • Kentucky Mule
  • Mexican Mule
  • Gin Buck
  • Mamie Taylor
  • Dark 'n' Stormy
  • Gin-Gin Mule

Related terms

Ingredients

Put it to use in your next drink

Garçon explains every step as you make the drink.

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