In 2019, we reviewed ‘Merican Mule*’s flagship brand of pre-made cocktails in can, along with Tropical and Mexican style iterations. Now the gang has returned straight outta Long Beach with impeccable timing and a winter variation: the Fire Mule.

This one’s a mix of bourbon (no word on the sourcing origins), ginger and cinnamon that will ring more than a few bells of familiarity to those who fancy whisky and cinnamon from a bottle with a wee devil on the label. But to ‘Merican Mule’s credit, this is surprisingly light and flavorful without compromising on taste.

The cocktail itself is a lovely and faint amber hue when poured out of the can into a glass, and immediately presents a massive hit of ginger, the cinnamon arriving a few moments later after some settling. The aroma is enticing and could easily be mistaken for a high-end ginger beer. The palate is exactly as advertised: loads of ginger followed by cinnamon and a faint trace of bourbon towards the end. This leads to Fire Mule’s biggest misstep: the bourbon doesn’t take center stage the way it would in a handmade cocktail. Instead it just dances about on the outskirts of the whole experience. A reasonable finish lingers for quite sometime and is once again heavy on ginger and little else.

Fire Mule would absolutely make do as a proper cocktail that would serve well if supplies to mix your own were limited, or if time was at a premium. A real slice of ginger or a cinnamon stick would certainly make this a complete experience.

7% abv.

B+ / $30 per eight-pack of 12 oz cans 

*No idea where the “A” in “America” went. But in 2020/2021 it is a reasonable assumption the Russians hacked that, too.

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