Today vodka and vodka cocktails are ubiquitous. In 2011, roughly 62 million 9-liter cases of vodka were sold in the U.S: the most of any spirit category.*

Below:

> The original Moscow Mule recipe. National Moscow Mule Day is March 3rd.

> The history of the Moscow Mule.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The year’s 50+ cocktail and spirits holidays.

> The history of vodka.

> The history of cocktails.
 
 
RECIPE: THE ORIGINAL MOSCOW MULE

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation
 
1. COMBINE vodka and lime juice in a cocktail shaker.

2. SHAKE with ice and strain into a copper mug or rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish and serve.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF THE MOSCOW MULE

In the 1940s, vodka represented a tiny fraction—just $50,000—of the then-$2,000,000,000-a-year U.S. spirits industry. Most people had never tasted it.

Heublein, the producer of Smirnoff vodka††, knew that it was time to shake up interest (pun intended).

One evening in 1941, three executives gathered at the Chatham Hotel in New York City: John G. Martin, president of Hartford-based spirits producer/istributor Heublein; Jack Morgan, president of Cock ‘n’ Bull Products (named after the Hollywood restaurant hangout [closed 1987]); and Rudolph Kunett, president of Heublein’s Pierre Smirnoff vodka division.

The trio wondered what would happen if they mixed a two-ounce shot of Smirnoff vodka with Cock ‘n’ Bull Ginger Beer ginger beer and a squeeze of lime.

Four or five drinks later, the new cocktail was christened the Moscow Mule. Why?

Vodka is associated with Russia, and ginger beer has a kick “like a mule.”

You’ll find modern variations that turn the Moscow Mule into a tall drink, add cranberry juice, orange bitters, substitute lemon juice for the lime juice, and so forth.

But that night at the Chatham Hotel, the three inventors used only vodka, lime juice, ginger beer and ice. Follow suit for an authentic Moscow Mule.

To aid vodka sales, Martin and Morgan promoted the new cocktail at the Cock ‘n’ Bull restaurant.
 
(continues below)
 

[1] A Moscow Mule in the traditional copper mug (photos #1 and #3 © Smirnoff Vodka).

[2] Gosling’s Ginger Beer is non-alcoholic. Here’s more about ginger beer (photo © Sovereignty Wines).

[3] Smirnoff is the world’s #1 vodka brand.

To amp up the marketing, the Cock ‘n’ Bull restaurant served the drink in a copper mug engraved with two mules kicking up their heels. Many stars had their own mugs engraved with their names hanging over the bar.

You don’t need copper mugs, but you can buy them on Amazon.com, with or without an engraved kicking mule.

Following the Moscow Mule promotion, Heublein went on to promote more vodka drinks: the Bloody Mary, the Bullshot (vodka and bouillon), the Ice Pick (vodka and iced tea), and the Screwdriver.

________________

*Source: Distilled Spirits Council of the United States 2011.

**Ginger beer is a carbonated beverage produced by natural fermentation, offering a more intense flavor than ginger ale. Some Caribbean brands contain a small amount of alcohol; otherwise, it is a soft drink.

†Vodka actually originated in Poland.

††The Smirnoff brand was founded in Moscow in the 1860s by Pyotr Smirnov, but the family fled during the 1917 revolution, and it has been produced elsewhere since—including in the U.S.
 

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