Much like a therapist or a houseplant that refuses to die even when you forget to water it for several weeks, the Moscow Mule is extremely forgiving. If you don’t get the proportions exactly right, it’ll probably still taste good - and you can easily swap out the vodka for just about any other liquor. Seriously, they all work. The trick is: quality ginger beer. And, no, you don’t need to buy a bunch of copper mugs.

How It Tastes: Spicy, Fizzy, Slightly Sweet

Drink If You Like: Greyhound, Dark and Stormy

You’ll Need:

• Ice
• A highball glass
• 2 ounces vodka
• .5 ounce lime juice
• .5 ounce simple syrup
• 4 ounces ginger beer
• Lime wedge and/or candied ginger for garnish

Step One: Simple Syrup

This starts out as a shaken cocktail, so go ahead and add .5 ounce of simple syrup to your cocktail shaker. If you don’t remember how to make simple syrup, use equal parts sugar and warm water, then stir until it’s clear and the sugar is fully dissolved (about 30 seconds).

Step Two: Lime Juice

Juice a lime. That’ll give you about one ounce of juice, and you’re gonna want to put .5 ounce of that lime juice in your cocktail shaker.

Step Three: Vodka

Don’t like vodka? Try this with gin, dark rum, bourbon, or rye. Hell, you could even use scotch or mezcal if you want. To reiterate, this is a very forgiving cocktail. Add 2 ounces of your spirit of choice to your shaker.

Step Four: Shake

Give everything a 12-second shake, and don’t be ashamed of all the noise you’re making. This is science. Or something.

Step Five: Ginger Beer

Get a highball stuffed with ice, and strain your cocktail into this glass. Next, fill the rest of your highball with ginger beer. It should be about four ounces - but just pour all the way to the top. Once again, we’d like to stress the importance of quality ginger beer. Unlike ginger ale, your ginger beer should actually taste like ginger. As for garnish, use a lime wedge, a piece of candied ginger, or both. That’s a Moscow Mule. The next time you need to make an easy, crowd-pleasing drink for a lot of people who like different liquors, remember this one. Then again, it’s just as good when you drink it by yourself.