Moscow Mule

From The Webtender Wiki

(Difference between revisions)

Revision as of 22:02, 1 December 2006

History of the Moscow Mule

The Moscow Mule was created sometime before the end of 1942. Who exactly created the Moscow Mule is unknown, as proof is yet to be found.

Previously the Official story was that the Moscow Mule was created after the second world war, which ended in 1945, and so is disproven.

Historical Recipes

"Inside Hollywood" by Eith Gwynn, December 27, 1942

"There is a new drink that is a craze in the movie colony now. It is called "Moscow Mule." Recipe: equal parts Vodka, lime juice and ginger beer!..."

"Nevada State Journal," 12th October, 1943

"In Los Angeles, USA, the Moscow Mule was born, it combines Smirnoff Vodka, Cock 'n Bull Ginger Beer and lime. Already the Mule is climbing up into the exclusive handful of most-popular mixed drinks"

COCKTAIL AND WINE DIGEST

by Oscar Haimo
privately printed, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1950

1945 edition

2 oz Vodka
1 split Ginger Beer
Crushed Ice
Serve in mug
Decorate with sprigs of mint

1950 edition

1/2 Lime Squeezed and Dropped in
2 oz Volka (sic)
1 split Ginger Beer or Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
2 Cubes Ice. Serve in mug. Stir

BUCKEYE TAVERN, "Patrick Murphy's The Barman's Corner," 11 May 1944, pg. 4, col. 2

"Since the primary purpose of this column is to keep the trade informed of mixtro news in particular and beverage lore in general, we hasten to report that a drink is being promoted in the Southwest. It's a brand promotion, but undoubtedly will click since it has a snappy name and its number one ingredient, vodka, is bought more easily in many areas than is gin or whiskey. The drink is a cooler built along Tom Collins lines, and here is the recipe as advertised:

MOSCOW MULE

1 oz. vodka, 10 oz. glass and chipped ice, a twist of lemon peel.

Note (GS): The absence of ginger beer in this recipe may just be a typo.

Reno Evening Gazette, 23rd May 1947

"Originating at the COCK BULL, Hollywood's most famous English type tavern, this unusual refreshment has become so popular it has even been featured in LIFE."

Time Magazine, 12th January, 1948

Moscow Mules* in copper souvenir cups.

Recipe: half a lime, jigger of vodka, add ginger beer to taste.

Smirnoff Advert 1948 (anecdote)

"Their recipe called for a generous 1 oz. shot of Smirnoff vodka in a 10 oz. copper mug, chipped ice, ginger beer, and a twist of lemon peel."

Berkshire Evening Eagle, 25th July 1949

"A Moscow mule is served in a copper mug, or vase, and is made of vodka and ginger- beer. I met it first in Hollywood"

Common Recipes

Joy of Mixology, Gary Regan

Build
2 oz vodka (60ml)
3 oz ginger beer (90ml)
2 lime wedges, for garnish

Serve in a copper mug

Craft of the Cocktail, Dale DeGroff

Build
1 1/2oz vodka
4 to 5oz ginger beer
Lime wedge, for garnish

Serve in an iced glass

Contentious Issues Regarding This Cocktail

Is the Moscow Mule served with Cucumber?

Ted Haigh Enlightens us

"Some time in the mid 50s a Palm Springs hotel bar began making this drink with the cucumber garnish. But why? Well, for a different twist, yes.... but it still occurs today and in old bars which have made it that way for years. Here's why: Moscow Mules are consumed as refreshers. What else, traditionally, would the sort of bar that served Moscow Mules serve as a refresher? Pimm's Cup. I've even seen Pimm's served in metal beer mugs and -wait for it- Mule mugs."

References

CocktailTimes
Hotwired Cocktail Index, Paul Harrington - Defunct Link
Craft of the Cocktail, Dale DeGroff, Clarkson Potter Publishers, New York, USA, 2002

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Creation Myth ==
+==History of the Moscow Mule ==
-The Moscow Mule is a tale of marketing gone right in post-war America. To set the scene, Heublein Inc. was an East Coast food and spirits distributor. In the late 40s, just after World War II, John G. Martin (and Heublein) acquired the sole production and distribution rights to Smirnov vodka, originally from Russia and now in the hands of their WW2 allies, America. With an anglicized name of Smirnoff, Martin was tasked with the job of selling it to the general public. On a cross country trek, he soon began to feel the pressure of failure. Although there was an interest in vodka, there was no market for it.
+The Moscow Mule was created sometime before the end of 1942. Who exactly created the Moscow Mule is unknown, as proof is yet to be found.
-While in Hollywood, Martin dropped into the Cock 'N Bull restaurant (owned by Jack Morgan) for dinner and drinks. Some twist of fate brought the two men together; Martin with his vodka, and Morgan with his less-than-profitable side enterprise of homebrew ginger beer. Morgan had another friend who was having problems selling her range of copper mugs from a factory she had inherited.
+Previously the Official story was that the Moscow Mule was created after the second world war, which ended in 1945, and so is disproven.
-The three sat down and came up with an ingenius marketing ploy; a cocktail that used Martin's vodka and Morgan's ginger beer, served in the lady's fine copper mugs. With a garnish of a lime wedge and a twist of cucumber, the Moscow Mule was born.
-Martin marketed the drink (and thus, the vodka) across America by taking a new invention called the polaroid camera to every bar he visited, whereby he asked the bartender to make the Moscow Mule, and then pose with the drink and the bottle of vodka for a photo. He then left one copy of the photo with the bar, and took a second copy to the other bars along the strip and showed the owners what their competition were up to.
-Since the drink was created in the Cock 'N Bull, and the Cock 'N Bull was a "big star hangout on Sunshine Boulevard in Los Angeles" (''Craft of the Cocktail'', D.Degroff 2002 p.155) the drink quickly caught fire across the country due to the drawcard of star power.  Over the years, the drink lost the cucumber twist as the extra garnish, but the lime wedge remains.
 ==Historical Recipes==