Skip to Content

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule – A Gin Cocktail

Share this...

Last Updated on October 6, 2022 by Leah Hall

Check out this great twist on the classic London Mule – we smoked some salt for the rim, and added some great citrus for this great grapefruit gin mule cocktail!

 

With the long dark nights of winter upon us, we are always looking for ways to bring a splash of sunshine into our lives. One way we love to do that is to use some of the amazing fresh citrus that starts appearing on supermarket shelves in the winter months. Fresh citrus evokes feelings of warm climates and bright sunshine, and that brightness makes for some fantastic cocktails like this drink, The Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule.

 

This post contains affiliate links for products that we think you as readers might find useful, and we make commission off of these! For more details about our affiliates, click our Disclosure and Contacts Page.

 

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule in copper mugs, grapefruit wedges with ginger and salt rims. Reamer, flowers, wooden bowl and yellow canister

 

London Mule

Most people think of a Moscow Mules as a summer drink as it is full of fizz and ice. We love a good mule anytime of the year. For this drink, we decided to substitute a good gin in place of the classic vodka that is typically found in a Moscow Mule, which makes this mule a London Mule.

 

 

We also chose a gin that had some bold flavor so it could stand up to the big flavors we used to mix up this drink.

 

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule with salt rimmed mugs, grapefruit wedges and ginger. Salt in wooden bowl, jigger and reamer and flowers

Garnish PicksWooden Bowl / Reamer

 

If You Are Looking for More Grapefruit Cocktails, Try These!

 

We love the way grapefruit and gin play together. Because of the bright acidic tartness grapefruit brings out the herbal and citrus notes of the gin. The grapefruit also has a hint of an evergreen aroma that really mixes well with the juniper in the gin. Then this makes for a great perfume that teases the nose, especially when we add in the smoked salt. Since a good cocktail experience should engage more than just your taste buds, having a fantastic aroma really engages your senses when you drink it.

 

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule in copper mug with grapefruit wedge and ginger. Yellow canister in background

Jigger / Crystallized Ginger

 

Tips for Grapefruit in Cocktails

Grapefruit can be somewhat bitter because it is extremely acidic. Most people dump a whole bunch of sugar to help make it sweeter. However, rather than dump a whole bunch of sugar, if you sprinkle a little salt into the mix, the bitterness goes away! Hooray for science! Channeling our inner nerds just a bit, the salt ions interact with your taste buds and blocks the bitter notes which makes the grapefruit sweeter.

 

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule with crystallized ginger and grapefruit wedges

 

While adding a little plain salt would have worked for blocking the bitterness of the grapefruit, we wanted to really bring more flavor to the drink. We then went ahead and smoked the salt. Store bought smoked salt would work perfectly fine, but since we got a smoking gun for Christmas, we had to play with our new toy! We chose to smoke our salt with hickory wood. It is a very familiar smoke flavor and a wood that makes for a nice lingering smoke.

 

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule in copper mugs with ginger and grapefruit

 

What Ingredients are Needed for the London Mule?

  • Smoked Salt
  • Ginger Beer
  • Grapefruit Juice
  • Lime Juice
  • Gin

 

We used the salt to rim the mule mugs. Rimming the mugs serves two purposes, not only serving as an attractive garnish, but also bringing the smoked salt right up to the nose when you sip. The smoked salt helps bring balance to the bitterness of the grapefruit, but also brings another layer of flavor to the drink.

 

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule in mugs with salt rims, grapefruit slices.

 

Any mule has to be finished with ginger beer, which brings a great spicy warmth to the mule while adding a refreshingly crisp fizz. When combined with the salt, grapefruit and gin, the ginger beer finishes the drink with a perfect fizzy freshness.

 

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule in copper mug with grapefruit, flowers and yellow canister

 

Give our Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule a try and help chase those cold dark winter nights away! Interested in some other mules? Check out some of our other great variations here!

 

Cheers!

 

Also, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and tag #gastronomcocktails so we can see all the wonderful recipes YOU recreate from this site!

 

You can also subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a delicious recipe again!

 

Like this recipe? Try these below, too!

Rosemary Grapefruit Moscow Mule - A Vodka CocktailRosemary Grapefruit Moscow Mule

 

Spicy Pineapple Strawberry Moscow MuleSpicy Pineapple Strawberry Moscow Mule

 

Other London Mule Recipes

 

Grapefruit Smoked Salt London Mule
Yield: 1

Grapefuit Smoked Salt London Mule - A Gin Cocktail

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

A smoky grapefruit gin cocktail - based on the classic Moscow Mule.

Ingredients

Gin Mule Cocktail

  • 2 ounces gin
  • .50 uncez freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 3.50 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
  • 4-5 ounces ginger beer
  • grapefruit wedge for garnish/rimming
  • smoked salt for the rim

Instructions

Use a grapefruit wedge and wipe the rim of the mug or rocks glass with the wedge to wet the rim.

Dip in the smoked salt to rim the mug.

Mix the gin and juices in mug.

Fill the glass with crushed ice.

Top with ginger beer.

Cheers!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 223Total Fat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 9mgCarbohydrates: 19.2gFiber: 0gSugar: 17gProtein: 0.7g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

PIN THIS GRAPEFRUIT SMOKED SALT LONDON MULE RECIPE FOR LATER!

Rosemary Smoked Salt London Mule in silver mug with grapefruit wedges and salt rim

 

Interested in stocking your own home bar? Make sure to see our favorites at our Amazon Store!

 

If you liked this recipe, don’t forget to subscribe for new (and of course free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all the recipes delivered to your inbox when we post), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter!

 

Gastronomblog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Share this...

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

michele

Friday 20th of January 2017

Im loving these mule cups! The recipe is pretty spectacular too! Cheers!

The 'Noms.

Sunday 22nd of January 2017

Thank you, Michele! I loved those cups, too!

Elaine @ Dishes Delish

Wednesday 18th of January 2017

I agree that gin and grapefruit together is quite lovely!! I love all versions of the mule! I look forward to trying this cocktail soon.

The 'Noms.

Wednesday 18th of January 2017

Thanks! We think this is a great version! Cheers!

Kyle J Larson

Tuesday 17th of January 2017

Looks really good! That's a cool trick about the salt blocking the bitterness.

The 'Noms.

Wednesday 18th of January 2017

Thank you! We thought this was a great drink! Cheers!

MK

Tuesday 17th of January 2017

This is a great variation of the traditional Moscow Mule. With grapefruits in season, I'll be trying one or two of these! ?

The 'Noms.

Wednesday 18th of January 2017

Thanks! it's the perfect time of year for these! Cheers!

Sarah @ Champagne Tastes

Monday 16th of January 2017

I love that you salted the grapefruit instead of adding sugar!!! I'm always looking for new mule recipes (the husband loves them), and this sounds fantastic!

The 'Noms.

Wednesday 18th of January 2017

We thought this was such a great combo! We loved this one, and hope your hubby does too! Cheers!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe