The Moscow Mule – a very simple refreshing combination of vodka, lime juice and ginger beer – fought alongside Bloody Mary in the late 40s to transform vodka from an incomprehensible foreign “white whiskey” that was only in demand in the narrow circles of Broadway and Hollywood. public, into the everyday drink of the American people. The cocktail is uncomplicated, but has the right to exist, especially on hot summer days, of which there are so few left.
The mediocrity and simplicity of this cocktail is by no means its weak point. On the contrary, the fact that the Moscow Mule can be prepared by a mere mortal, and not just cocktail geeks, which are served with some intricate Indonesian araki, yuzu juice or vintage Pinot de Charentes as ingredients, has made it a super popular drink in the west.
The copper mug traditionally served in the cocktail has only increased its recognizability and made it one of the most popular mixed drinks in the United States. The International Association of Bartenders has included the Moscow Mule in the list of classic cocktails, category “Modern Classics”. Let’s cook!
Classic Moscow Mule Recipe
It only takes three simple and relatively affordable ingredients to make a Moscow Mule: vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice. It is very problematic to buy ginger beer in the CIS, especially of decent quality (usually these are Caribbean producers), but ingenuity and Rum will come to your aid. In one of the previous articles (here is a link to it), I wrote several recipes for ginger beer (I advise you to stop at Paul Clark’s soft drink). Enjoy!
Classic Moscow Mule
- 60 ml of vodka
- 120-180 ml of ginger beer
- 15 ml fresh lime juice
- lime for decoration
Squeeze the lime juice into a Collins glass (or into a copper mug for the Moscow Mule), and toss in the peel of the squeezed lime. Add a couple of ice cubes, then pour in the vodka and well-chilled ginger beer. Serve with a swizzle stick.
The cocktail, as you understand, is very simple, which means that each ingredient is of great importance. With vodka, everything is clear – neutral, without third-party tastes and smells (traditional Smirnoff, by the way, has lost ground and it is better to take any other “clean” vodka for a cocktail). But with ginger beer you have to tinker, cook that is.
Of course, you can use ginger ale, but this is not at all (in the article with a ginger beer recipe there is a couple of words about this), but to find a good ginger beer on the domestic market … do not even try (however, if a Jamaican product catches your eye, take without hesitation, Q Ginger Beer and Fever-Tree Ginger Beer, specially created for Moscow Mule, also perform well).
Of course, the mule also has many variations (you can start with a classic recipe, reducing or increasing the amount of beer and lime juice). Here are some of them (which is simpler – a list, which is more complicated – a recipe):
- bohemian mule – absinthe, ginger beer, lime juice
- Kentucky Mul – bourbon, ginger beer, lime juice
- french mule – cognac, lime juice, sugar syrup, Angostura bitters, ginger beer
- Gin-gin mul – ginger root, gin, lime, sugar syrup, ginger beer
- Jamaican mule – spiced rum, lime, sugar syrup, ginger beer
Mexican Mule
- 60 ml tequila reposado
- 15 ml orange liqueur
- 180 ml ginger beer
- 15 ml of lime juice
- chopped jalapeno
- chopped ginger root
- sprig of basil
Place ice, tequila, lime juice and a few pieces of jalapeno pepper in a shaker and shake well. Pour into a copper mug or tall glass, top with ginger beer and orange liqueur. Garnish with chopped jalapenos, ginger root and lime skewered on a cocktail skewer and a sprig of basil.
Mulejito
- 5-8 aromatic mint leaves
- 15 ml simple syrup
- 15 ml of lime juice
- 60 ml rum
- 90-120 ml of ginger beer
- mint and lime for decoration
In the bottom of a copper mug or tall glass, combine the mint, simple syrup, lime juice, and rum. Fill a mug with ice and top up with ginger beer. Garnish with a sprig of mint and lime.
Dead Mul
- 30 ml absinthe
- 30 ml cinnamon schnapps
- 30 ml orchard syrup
- 20 ml of lime juice
- ginger beer to the top
Shake the first four ingredients with ice in a shaker and strain into a copper mug or tall glass filled with ice. Top up with ginger beer and garnish with a lime wedge.
History of the Moscow Mule
There are two fairly plausible stories of the origin of the Moscow mule. One of them was described in a 2007 New York Herald Tribune article. According to her, three brilliant businessmen came up with the cocktail: Jack Morgan (president of Cock ‘n’ Bull Products and owner of the Hollywood Cock ‘n’ Bull restaurant), John Gilbert Martin (president of GF Heublein Brothers Inc. from Hartford, Connecticut) and Rudolf Kunett ( President Pierre Smirnoff, division of Heublein).
One day, these three honorable gentlemen gathered in the bar of the New York Chatham Hotel, gossiping about this and that and discussing “problem children”: Jack Morgan had a hefty batch of Cock ‘n’ Bull ginger beer, new to America, gathering dust in warehouses, and John and Rudolph did not they knew how to promote a drink that is not so popular in the USA – Smirnoff vodka. What happened that day at the bar no one can tell you for sure, but four or five days later the world heard about the Moscow Mule cocktail.
And what’s with the copper mug? – you ask. I will answer – who would know! According to historian Ted Haig, an acquaintance of Jack Morgan’s, Osalene Schmitt, inherited the copper goods business – hence the mug. There is also an alternative story about the unfortunate Russian immigrant Sophie Berezinski, who arrived in the US in 1941 with 2000 copper mugs on board. Her father owned a famous copper company and had an excess of copper mugs that he simply could not sell in a country preparing for war. Sophie took the mugs and swam aimlessly. She allegedly fused the mugs at that very meeting in the Chatham bar. So it goes…
The story described above was considered the only true one for decades, until in the same 2007, The Wall Street Journal published an article stating that the Moscow Mule was invented by the head bartender of Hollywood Cock ‘n’ Bull, Jack Morgan’s establishment, Charles Wesley “Wes” Price with in order to sell the stale remains of Smirnoff vodka and ginger beer.
The competing story looks plausible enough, as even a simple cocktail like this requires some mixology skills. Price himself confirmed the article personally and said that he mixed the first of its kind Moscow Mule for actor Broderick Crawford, which is another good reason to trust the bartender – at first the cocktail was very loved in Hollywood.