Buck Cocktails

Revision as of 05:20, 25 August 2013

Buck, and also called a mule, is a slightly antiquated name for a family of historic mixed drinks that involve ginger ale or ginger beer, citrus juice, and any of a number of base liquors. The origin of the cocktail is obscure. It may be traced back to the Buck's Fizz, a cocktail made with orange juice and champagne. Another theory is that it evolved from the Horses Neck, a drink that originally was just ginger beer and citrus juice. Adding a spirit gave the drink a "kick," hence the horse became a buck (or mule).

Variations include:

• Rum buck, also called a Jamaica Buck or Barbados Buck to indicate the origin of the rum. A Shanghai Buck was a popular rum buck cocktail in the 1930s-'40s. Adding lime juice to a Dark and Stormy creates a rum buck.
• Gin Gin Mule, also known as a London buck or a Ginger Rogers (after the actress of the same name)
• Whiskey bucks include Kentucky Mule (Bourbon), Andrew Jackson (Tennessee whiskey), Joe Buck (corn whiskey), and Mamie Taylor (Scotch)
• Vodka buck, also known as a Moscow Mule, invented in Los Angeles, California, and largely responsible for the popularity of Vodka in the United States from the 1940s through 1960s.
• Tequila buck, also called El Burro, El Diablo or Mexican Burro

External Links

Bucks, Mules and Their Ilk - Badass Digest