How many calories are in a Moscow mule?
A standard Moscow mule is 225 g of vodka, ginger beer and lime, and it carries 205 calories. Per 100 g the drink runs 91 calories, so the number moves with the size of the mug more than with the recipe. Fill an 8 fl oz copper mug and you are at 218.
You'd need to walk about 41 minutes to burn the 205 calories in one drink (225 g).
How long does it take to burn off a Moscow mule?
One drink (225 g) is 205 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 205 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 41 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 26 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 29 min |
| Jogging | 24 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 46 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (225 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Moscow mule quick facts
- US pours, from one ounce to a full copper mug
- Mule mixers, from virgin to syrup-style
- Sugar is the row to watch, not fat
- How does a Moscow mule compare?
- Most popular moscow mule brands
- Moscow mule FAQs
Moscow mule quick facts
There is exactly one USDA record for the finished cocktail: FNDDS 2710645, "Moscow mule", in the Liquor and cocktails group of the 2021–2023 survey release. It is the drink as people actually order it, vodka and ginger beer over ice with lime, and USDA attaches a household measure of one drink at 225 g. That is the number below.
Nothing in the branded database competes with it. Distilled spirits and most malt-based ginger beers are not labeled under the FDA Nutrition Facts rules, so a search for "moscow mule" in USDA's branded set returns cocktail mixers, candy and one barbecue sauce, but never a bottled cocktail.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per one drink (225 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 91 | 205 | — |
| Total fat | 0.01 g | 0.0 g | 0% |
| Saturated fat | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Carbohydrate | 8.6 g | 19.4 g | 7% |
| Dietary fiber | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Total sugars | 8.71 g | 19.6 g | — |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Sodium | 5 mg | 11 mg | 0% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
There is no added-sugars row here, and no trans fat row either, because this edition of FNDDS does not publish either value for cocktails. Cholesterol is 0 mg and potassium is 2 mg in a drink, which is as close to nothing as a beverage gets. The Daily Values used in that last column come from FDA's 2,000-calorie reference.
Here is the part worth keeping. Of the 205 calories, the 19.4 g of carbohydrate account for roughly 77. Protein is 0 g and fat is 0.0 g, so the remaining 128 or so have nowhere to come from except the alcohol. That is our own arithmetic on the USDA figures, not a USDA field, and it is why cutting the ginger beer does far less than people expect.
US pours, from one ounce to a full copper mug
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 fl oz | 30 g | 27 kcal |
| 1 oz by weight | 28.4 g | 26 kcal |
| 4 fl oz pour | 120 g | 109 kcal |
| One drink, USDA measure | 225 g | 205 kcal |
| One copper mug, 8 fl oz | 240 g | 218 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 91 kcal |
Only three rows there are USDA's own: the 225 g drink, the 1 fl oz pour and the per 100 g line. The 8 fl oz mug, the 4 fl oz pour and the weight ounce are our own arithmetic scaled from the 91 calories per 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
The copper mug is the trap. A classic mule mug holds 8 fl oz filled to the brim, which is 240 g of liquid and 218 calories, while USDA's "one drink" is 225 g and 205 calories. Thirteen calories is not a crisis, but it shows the direction of the error, and bar mugs of 12 and 16 fl oz are now common. Log the vessel, not the recipe.
Mule mixers, from virgin to syrup-style
Mixers are where the branded database has something to say, and the spread between them is enormous.
| Version | Per 100 g | Label serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Splash Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Mixer, Moscow Mule | 33 kcal | 2 fl oz (60 ml) | 20 kcal |
| Health-Ade Moscow Mule Kombucha Cocktail Mixer | 34 kcal | 4 fl oz (118 ml) | 40 kcal |
| Hella Cocktail Co Moscow Mule Premium Mixer | 237 kcal | 2 fl oz (59 g) | 140 kcal |
Read that top to bottom and the category splits in two. The ready-to-pour mixers sit near 33 to 34 calories per 100 g, which is roughly a third of the finished cocktail's 91, because they are mostly water and lime. The premium mixer is a syrup at 237 calories per 100 g, more than two and a half times the cocktail itself, meant to be diluted rather than drunk. Two others land between them, with Stonewall Kitchen's mixer at 100 calories per 100 g and Swig + Swallow at 136.
A virgin mule built from the Splash mixer starts at 20 calories for a 2 fl oz pour, and then the ginger beer you top it with decides everything. USDA has no record for a finished non-alcoholic mule, only for the mixers, so any single number for a virgin mule is a guess about the bottle in your hand.
Sugar is the row to watch, not fat
A Moscow mule has no fat worth the ink: 0.01 g per 100 g, which rounds to 0.0 g in the glass, and 0 g saturated fat. Protein is 0 g. Sodium is 11 mg, well under 1% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, so a mule is not a sodium problem even if you drink three.
Total sugars are 19.6 g in one drink. Total sugars have no Daily Value on the US label, and this is where most calorie pages overreach: they compare that figure to the 50 g added-sugars limit as if the two were the same row. They are not. USDA does not publish added sugars for this record, so nobody, including us, can tell you how much of the 19.6 g came from ginger beer syrup and how much from the lime.
What can be said cleanly is the alcohol share. Carbohydrate explains about 77 of the 205 calories; the other 128 or so are alcohol, since there is no fat or protein left to explain them. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans define moderate drinking as two drinks or fewer a day for men and one or fewer for women, and CDC's alcohol pages carry the same limits. Two mules is 410 calories, which is a meal's worth of a 350-to-450-calorie lunch budget, arriving without any protein or fiber attached.
How does a Moscow mule compare?
USDA's cocktail set lets you line up the mule against its obvious rivals at the same size. The 225 g column for the other three is our arithmetic from their 100 g figures, not USDA servings, so the comparison is apples to apples.
| Cocktail | Per 100 g | Same 225 g drink | 1 fl oz (30 g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moscow mule | 91 kcal | 205 kcal | 27 kcal |
| Screwdriver | 92 kcal | 207 kcal | 28 kcal |
| Vodka and cola | 89 kcal | 200 kcal | 27 kcal |
| Vodka and energy drink | 90 kcal | 203 kcal | 27 kcal |
Our take: the mixer barely matters. Across all four records the spread is 3 calories per 100 g, from 89 to 92, because the vodka pour is doing the heavy lifting in every one of them. Swapping ginger beer for orange juice or cola changes your drink by a couple of calories per glass and nothing more. One caveat for the "mule versus vodka soda" question: USDA's cocktail set has no record for vodka with plain club soda, so we will not invent one. The honest version is that club soda contributes no calories, which means a vodka soda is the vodka alone, and the mule's roughly 77 carbohydrate calories are the difference.
Most popular moscow mule brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Hella Cocktail Co Moscow Mule Premium Mixer | 237 cal |
| Swig + Swallow Moscow Mule Cocktail Mixer | 136 cal |
| Stonewall Kitchen Moscow Mule Mixer | 100 cal |
| Health-Ade Moscow Mule Kombucha Cocktail Mixer | 34 cal |
| Splash Moscow Mule Premium Cocktail Mixer | 33 cal |
| Splash Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Mixer, Moscow Mule | 33 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Moscow mule FAQs
How many calories are in a Moscow mule?
205 calories for the standard 225 g drink USDA records as one Moscow mule, which works out to 91 calories per 100 g. Vodka, ginger beer and lime give you 19.4 g of carbohydrate, no fat, no protein and 11 mg of sodium. Pour it into a full 8 fl oz copper mug and the same recipe reaches 218.
How many carbs are in a Moscow mule?
19.4 g of carbohydrate in a 225 g Moscow mule, or 8.6 g per 100 g, and none of it is fiber, since USDA lists 0 g. That is 7% of the 275 g Daily Value. Almost all of it arrives with the ginger beer, because distilled vodka carries no carbohydrate of its own.
How much sugar is in a Moscow mule?
19.6 g of total sugars in one 225 g drink, or 8.71 g per 100 g. Total sugars carry no Daily Value on the US label, and USDA does not publish added sugars for this record, so there is no honest way to say how much came from ginger beer syrup rather than from the lime.
How many calories in a copper mug of Moscow mule?
218 calories for a full 8 fl oz copper mug, which holds about 240 g of liquid. That is our own arithmetic from the USDA figure of 91 calories per 100 g, not a USDA serving. The mug runs 13 calories above the 225 g drink USDA measures, so the vessel moves the number more than the recipe does.
Does ginger beer add a lot of calories to a Moscow mule?
Roughly 77 of the 205 calories in a Moscow mule come from carbohydrate, which is almost entirely the ginger beer. That leaves about 128 calories with nowhere else to go but the alcohol, because USDA lists 0 g protein and 0.0 g fat for the drink. The mixer matters less than the pour.
How many calories in a skinny Moscow mule?
USDA publishes no record for a skinny Moscow mule, so cutting the 205 down is our arithmetic rather than a lookup. Take the sugar out of the 225 g drink and you drop the 19.4 g of carbohydrate worth about 77 calories, leaving roughly 128 from the vodka alone. A diet ginger beer version lands near that figure.
How many calories in a virgin Moscow mule?
20 calories per 2 fl oz (60 ml) for the Splash Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Mixer, Moscow Mule, which is 33 calories per 100 g. USDA has no record for a finished virgin mule, only for mixers, so the total depends on how much ginger beer you top it with. The mixer itself is the small part.
Is a Moscow mule gluten free?
USDA's Moscow mule record lists 0 g protein and 0 g fiber but carries no gluten figure at all, so the label on your ginger beer decides it. Most vodka is distilled, and ginger beers vary by brand, some brewed and some blended from syrup. Check the bottle if this matters to you.
Similar foods
- Clam Chowder — 237 cal per cup
- Chinese Chicken and Broccoli — 206 cal per cup
- Pomegranate — 72 cal for 1/2 cup arils
- Pork And Beans — 273 cal per cup
- Turkey deli meat — 89 cal for 3 slices
- Chicken Tikka Masala — 257 cal per cup
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the mug and BodyPal counts the mule for you, mixer and all.
