The Moscow Mule

The interesting thing about the Moscow Mule is that it wasn't invented in Russia at all, but in the USA.

It is believed in the late 1930's John G. Martin bought the rights to Smirnoff Vodka. The only problem was, Americans were whisky and gin drinkers and had no interest in drinking vodka. In the early 1940's, Martin found himself in LA at a bar named the Cock 'n' Bull to visit an old friend by the name of Jack Morgan. Jack had a cellar full to the brim with ginger beer that nobody wanted to drink.

After some discussion, the resident bartender Wes Price thought to mix together Smirnoff vodka, ginger beer and fresh lime juice. Boom. The Moscow Mule. Named in homage to the Russian origins of its main spirit. Allegedly at this moment, a young Russian woman who had just designed and overzealously made way too many copper mugs at the factory inherited from her father walked into the bar trying to sell her wares.

Martin and Morgan saw the marketing angle, a Russian spirit served in a Russian copper vessel? How novel. They also realized that the copper mug made the drink feel colder, kept it colder for longer and amplified its taste, fizz and aroma. They knew that this was the drink that would save them all! Martin was basically the original influencer. He supposedly went all around America, photographing bartenders holding the copper mug in one hand, and a bottle of Smirnoff in the other. Iconic.

The rest is history. The iconic mug is still fashionable today, even if most people don't even know what's in a Moscow Mule (spoiler alert, we're about to tell you!)

HOW TO MAKE A MOSCOW MULE

Ingredients

30ml vodka of your choice

Juice of 1 lime (save a little slice for garnish)

Ginger beer of your choice

Ice cubes, lots of them

Method

Fill up your mule mug with the ice cubes. Add your vodka and lime. Top up with ginger beer. Garnish with your lime wedge. Enjoy! (Responsibly).

If you have already mastered the original and want to spice things up, check out this laundry list of cocktails in a mule mug for some inspiration:

https://www.absolutdrinks.com/en/drinks/in/mule-mug/

If all of this sounds right up your alley, head on over to our store and check out our Mule Mugs:

Ours are not pure copper like in the 1940's, but they are beautiful and a lot more durable! Copper is prone to rusting through oxidation, and actually, copper dissolves easily into acidic solutions, and the ingredients of a Moscow mule are acidic, which means that over time, copper may leech into your drink. We don't know how many Moscow Mules you would need to drink before you reached copper toxicity (we imagine a lot!), but wouldn't it be easier to just enjoy the look of a copper mug without all that leeching? Our mugs are stainless steel, with copper look plating, which means that you can rest assured there are no metals leeching into your cocktail.

What is your favourite drink to serve in a mule mug? Tag us in your creations!

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