Yule Mule - A Festive Mocktail

​A Yule Mule is a holiday twist on other mule beverages, traditionally made with ginger beer and lime juice.  This drink is not only refreshing and hydrating, but low in calories.  It uses fresh ginger and lime juice to provide a flavorful tang, and pomegranate seeds for a bright pink color.  Muddling these three ingredients together produces a colorful juice that can be mixed with plain seltzer water to create the perfect holiday drink.

Slicing the Lime

​Lime juice offers a tangy, yet sweet flavor that complements the ginger in this recipe well.  The juice from a quarter of a lime is plenty to start with for one drink – it doesn’t look like much, but more juice will be released as the ingredients get muddled together.  Don’t forget to slice a piece of lime for garnish!

Preparing the Ginger

​Fresh ginger has a distinct, almost spicy flavor.  Prepare your ginger by shaving off the outer skin with the side of a spoon.  Alternatively, cutting it off with a knife or peeler works well also.  Slice off the shaved inch of ginger and chop it into small pieces.  This recipe uses a mortar and pestle to grind up the ginger but using a grater or microplane is another great way to prepare it for mixing.

Cutting the Pomegranate

​Pomegranates can be tricky to de-seed.  The easiest, and quickest, way to remove the arils (seeds) is by cutting it in half, holding it cut-side down in your hand over a large bowl, and soundly smacking the skin-side with the back of a large spoon.  The force is enough to expel the arils from the pith without the hassle of picking it apart.  Be careful with the juices - pomegranate juice can stain easily!  Remove any large pieces of pith, then the seeds are ready to use!

​Time to muddle!  The mortar and pestle are great tools for this, but you can also mix the ingredients in a small dish with a spoon (*if doing this method, grate your ginger instead of chopping it).  Continue muddling until the juice covers the solid pieces, or until all the juice is released from the pomegranate.

​It’s important to strain this mixture to avoid any hard pomegranate seeds or chunks of ginger.  The remaining juice will provide us with the flavor we need to make our Yule Mule.  Plain seltzer water is the perfect addition to transform this small cup of juice into a bubbly holiday drink that helps to keep you hydrated.  Pour the juice over ice, add plain seltzer, garnish with pomegranate seeds, lime, and fresh rosemary sprig, then enjoy!

Recipe Variations

​If you want to skip the ginger muddling or grating, an easy alternative is to use diet ginger ale instead of plain seltzer.  Add a squeeze of lime juice and your garnish.  It won’t be pink, but this drink is still tasty and easy to prepare if every inch of your kitchen is being used to prepare your holiday dinner.

​This drink doesn’t have to be limited to the holidays – you can can swap out pomegranate for whichever fruit may be in season, such as blackberries or cherries in the summer.

Recipe: Yule Mule

Ingredients:

• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and diced
• 2 Tbsp pomegranate seeds
• Juice of 1/4 lime
• 12 oz plain seltzer water
• Ice cubes
• Garnish

1. Add ginger, pomegranate, and lime juice to a mortar.  Using a pestle, grind the solids until a pink liquid forms and the ginger is fragrant.
2. In your glass, add ice cubes.
3. Strain the liquid into your glass over ice, discarding the solids.
4. Pour plain seltzer water over the liquid, mixing with a stir spoon.
5. Ready to drink!  Add garnishes to your drink: pomegranate seeds, lime wedge, and a fresh sprig of rosemary.

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Enjoy!
​~ Jordan Griffin, Dietetic Intern