Cocktail of the Week: São Paulo Mule

The São Paulo Mule cocktail is my first attempt at creating a cocktail. For Christmas I was gifted a 12 pack of Guarana Antarctica, the best soda on the planet, and I wanted to see if I could integrate it into a cocktail. My favorite cocktail is the Moscow Mule; it just seemed obvious that I should try and combine them. For a first attempt it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. I have some ideas on how to improve the cocktail that I’ll share below.

São Paulo Mule

• 3/4 oz. vodka
• 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
• Guarana Antarctica

Shake vodka and lime juice in a shaker w/ ice. Strain over ice. Add Guarana Antarctica to top. Garnish with lime wedge.

The problem with this cocktail was that the Guarana overpowers everything. It has a strong, distinct flavor and that overwhelms the lime. They only thing the lime juice adds is a discordant sour note. I could fix this by using a fruit juice that complements the soda but I worry that it might end up too sweet. I’m thinking that a better foundation for this drink would be a highball and maybe a more flavored liquor, say bourbon or a dark rum? I’ll let you know how it goes!

Author: Jonathon

Would rather be out swimming, running, or camping. Works in state government. Spent a youth reading genre-fiction; today, he is making up for it by reading large quantities of non-fiction literature. The fact that truth, in every way, is more fascinating than fiction still tickles him. View all posts by Jonathon