Buck Buck Mule

Let’s begin by settling a debate. Buck vs. mule? Some maintain that the buck is the one with the base spirit plus ginger ale instead of its spicier cousin, ginger beer. Incorrect. Okay, so either a buck or a mule can be made with ginger beer or ginger ale? Some say it depends on the vessel; the mule is meant to be served in a copper mug, à la the Moscow Mule (an offshoot of the popular late 19th-century Mamie Taylor ginger and Scotch highball), while the buck (think Dark and Stormy or Horse’s Neck) is always served long, in a highball glass. Buck? Mule? Rather than call the whole thing off, or at least picking a side, in 2009, Josh Pape created the Buck Buck Mule for the opening menu at The Diamond in Vancouver. It’s remained on the list ever since.

The name of the cocktail did indeed derive from the great mule vs. buck debate and wordplay. “Originally we couldn’t decide if we wanted to use ginger ale or ginger beer,” Pape told Spirited author Adrienne Stillman in 2019. “In saying it repeatedly ‘buck or mule, buck or mule’ it’s just kind of happened.” (By the way, they went with ginger beer in a highball glass.) What distinguishes this drink is the addition of fino sherry to dry out the other flavors, and cucumber juice for an additional layer of aromatics.

Pape suggests that if cucumber juice is not readily available, it’s okay to muddle a few cucumber slices in the shaker before adding the other ingredients. Just be sure to double strain—using a fine-mesh tea strainer in addition to your cocktail strainer—to avoid pieces of floating cucumber in the final presentation.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Signature Cocktails' by Amanda Schuster. Buy the full book on Amazon.