Moscow Mule

Moscow Mule

Ingredients:
2 oz Vodka
3 - 4 oz Spicy Ginger beer
2 Lime wedges
Moscow Mule mug or highball glass

Method:
Add the vodka and ginger beer to a highball glass or copper Moscow Mule mug filled with ice and stir briefly. Next, squeeze the lime wedges into the drink  then use as garnish i.e. drop into drink and stir once more and serve.

Note: some recipes call for a sweetener such as simple syrup. If the Moscow Mule is too tart for your taste buds then by all means add .25 oz simple syrup to the drink. However I suggest trying it without first. 

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The Moscow Mule found its way onto the American bar scene as a pure marketing scheme. One that was not only a product of necessity but also of simplistic genius.

It had been invented around 1941 and though an executive at the Heublein drinks company, John G. Martin claimed he and Jack Morgan of the Cock 'n' Bull in Los Angeles came up with it, this is in dispute. The head bartender of the Cock 'n' Bull, a Mr. Wes Price also laid claim to the discovery. If given the choice between the man behind the bar, and a couple of executives, especially if one of those execs is a marketing fellow, well then I tend to believe the barman every time. 

Moscow Mule looks fine in a highball glass too.

The story goes like this: Martin had bought the rights to Smirnoff Vodka in the late 1930's but was having a terrible time selling his product in the States. Americans were drinking Gin, Bourbon, and Rye in those days and were rather content. Morgan on the other hand had ordered far too much ginger beer for his bar the Cock 'n' Bull. It also turns out that Morgan had a girlfriend at the time who owned a copper company that produced copper products, which is where the copper mug begins to come into play.

So all three were thrown together with a bit of lime to boot and the drink was born. But that is not the end by a long shot, as one bar and a copper cup cannot single handedly change the American consumer's perspective. The problem still existed for both Martin and Morgan, how to get more people to buy so they could deplete their stocks.

The gimmicky copper mug which helped push the drink. I guess cause it was shiny.

In 1947 the first Polaroid instant cameras were invented and John G. Martin saw their potential right away. He bought one and with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a promotional copper mug in the other, he travelled from bar to bar plying his wares. He would introduce the barman to the Moscow Mule, then he would take two photographs, one he gave to the bartender the other he would keep. At his next stop he would show the pictures of the other bars who were serving the Moscow Mule to the proprietors and they quickly picked up the drink to keep up with their competition. Vodka sales tripled over the next four years.

American ingenuity and drive at its best.

The Moscow Mule has a subtle bite and refreshing flavor — a great summertime sipper and extremely simple to mix up. Great for game day festivities.

Cheers
AL