No, it's not a chick drink. Just because there's vodka in it doesn't make it limp-wristed (ever heard of a Kamikaze?). Audrey Hepburn drank Glenlivet, for Pete's sake. Doesn't get much more badass than that.
And speaking of ass...
I have solved the mysterious case of the "Moscow Mule." I figured out why it's called a "Moscow Mule." I can't express to you what a triumph this is. What glorious relief. I've been going mad. The name of this beverage has bugged me for ages. I had no idea where the "mule" part came from. Mules in Moscow? Huh? What's ginger ale and lime have to do with mules?
Well, I found out. I'll tell you after I give you the recipe.
- 1½ ounces vodka
- 4 ounces ginger beer
- 1 lime wedge
I'd like to tell you that there's an interesting story behind the name, but there isn't. Some guys got drunk, pulled some ingredients off the shelf, mixed the cocktail, got more drunk, and named it. In 1941, on the leading edge of a vodka craze, Jack Morgan and two friends were hanging out in a bar. (The location is highly disputed. Some say it was in New York's Chatham Hotel; others allege it was in Los Angeles somewhere.) Morgan was the owner of a company called Cock 'n' Bull Products, and owned a restaurant in Hollywood of the same name. With him were John G. Martin, president of G.F. Heublein Brothers, Inc. (a noted distributor and producer of alcoholic beverages), and Rudolph Kunett, who presided over Heublein's vodka division. A trainload of Cock 'n' Bull Ginger Beer had just pulled in and the three men in the bar decided to mix it with some vodka and see what the result was. They liked it, and (after a few brisk rounds) dubbed it the Moscow Mule: "Moscow" for the Russian origins of vodka, obviously, and "mule" because it was a "mule" or "buck" cocktail. What are "mule" or "buck" cocktails?
Well, I'll tell you.
They're cocktails which contain ginger ale or ginger beer, citrus juice, and any particular hard liquor. The "gin buck" was a popular cocktail at one point. Rum bucks (also called Jamaica bucks or Barbados bucks or Wherever-The-Hell-The-Rum-Was-Made bucks) are quite well-known, too.
The Moscow Mule caught on like wildfire. It was especially popular in Los Angeles, getting a nod from Insider Hollywood magazine. According to legend, it was served in copper mugs—a marketing gimmick cooked up by Martin. Reportedly he bought one of the first Polaroid cameras and asked barmen around L.A. to pose with a copper mug (labeled "Moscow Mule") and a bottle of Smirnoff vodka. He'd leave one photo at the bar and send the other to the bar next door, just to unsettle the competition.
Bet you didn't know that, did you?
One disclaimer: I know the recipe says "ginger beer" and not "ginger ale" but hey—I didn't have any ginger beer. Moreover I have tasted ginger beer (in England) and, aside from being more intensely herbal in flavor, it's not that much different from Canada Dry. So. I thought ginger ale an adequate substitute.
Ginger ale mixes quite well with most liquors. I wouldn't recommend blending it with tequila, but it certainly coordinates with whiskey and rum. Certainly vodka. Vodka, the "necklace of negatives," is a sponge-like liquor that absorbs the flavors of whatever's been mixed with it. (Gin does likewise to some degree.) Add orange juice to vodka and you get orange juice. Add tomato juice to vodka and you get tomato juice. Add cranberry juice to vodka and you get lots of women drunk, and fast.
So, the ginger ale-vodka mix is a harmonious one, and the lime kick at the end provides both an extra burst of flavor. There's variations on the recipe, of course. Oprah prefers her Mules with sugar syrup and a sprig of mint. Some ballsy folks in the 1950s added bitters to this thing. Whoo-ee, I don't know if I'd try that. This is a sweetish, gingery, slightly sour sort of libation; it doesn't need extra flavor, particularly not one that'd make you pucker up. Taken all around, presented as I've communicated to you here, the Moscow Mule is an agua dulce worthy of a notable spot on your after-dinner repertoire, or a fun summery drink to serve at a picnic or barbecue on the back porch.
Pour, mix, and enjoy. You're sure to get a kick out of it.
4 comments:
I'd drink this one on name alone! :-)
I take it you're not tee-total, then (wink)? I love ginger beer, and you're right, it is similar to Canada Dry, 'cept the beer has a frothy head to it. I'm tempted to give this a try..
I've been crazy about ginger beer recently, primarily in the Dark 'n Stormy. Needed to change it up and tried my first Moscow Mule (dunno how I failed to try it for so many years), and as you know its great.
Thanks for the history! I love the variations with gin, bitters, even whiskey. But according to Wikipedia the gin, ginger beer, lime, and bitters concoction I have fallen in love with would be called a Kicking Mississippi Mule, which I will not call anything I drink. Luckily with your "buck" historical reference I was with etymological accuracy able to name my cocktail the Bitter London Buck. Adding this to my home bar menu!
Thank you for stopping in, Mr. Livingston! It's a funny thing: just a day or two before you commented on this post I went out and managed to procure some honest-to-goodness ginger beer from a health food shop and used it to create my first "bona fide" Moscow Mule. Man, it was lovely. The ginger beer does make all the difference. Your Bitter London Buck sounds gorgeous! I shall have to try that.
Keep the home mixology fires burning, good sir!
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