It wasn’t the first time, but it was the one that sticks out the most. No, not that. I’m talking about the earliest memory I have of enjoying this drink. Downtown Nashville, on the corner of Broadway and 2nd Avenue there’s a tri-level bar called Acme Feed & Seed. Yeah, bars around here have weird names like that. But, this is a Tiki podcast after all. A genre not exactly known for its subtle sophistication.
I was there with Kyle. Long time listeners will remember Kyle. The two of us would often be found side by side as drunken denizens posing as bon vivants in those our days of prolonged adolescence. From the rooftop in the summertime, holding a margarita, one could admire the mossy green sheen of the Cumberland River sparkling in the sun. On the streets below hoards of pleasantly pickled partiers use brunch as an excuse to start drinking at noon and girls use it as an excuse to look as fancy as possible in as little clothing.
This particular memory takes place one evening, though. I’m sure there were other people there as well. Probably, since I don’t recall, a few of the host of ephemeral characters that passed fluidly in and out of our lives back then. I do recall one such person who ended up becoming a mainstay in my life … my future wife was there.
She and Kyle both ordered a particular drink and, intrigued by the presentation and feeling left out, I followed suit. After some friendly chiding about me never having one before there they were lined up on the bar, so queer. Looking unlike anything else being served.
Cold, crisp, clean … the words that flood to mind upon the first sip. Yet, with an intriguing herbal spice. Indicative of the spirit’s homeland and aided by metallic conduction this cocktail transports the imbiber via mind and senses. Almost like this combination of ingredients was masterfully crafted on purpose to entice all facets of experiential drinking into one discriminate sip.
As we will come to find out, the Moscow Mule was anything but masterfully crafted.
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Tony and this is Pod Tiki.
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Once again I’m blown away by discovery. If doing this podcast has humbled me in any way it’s been to never judge a cocktail’s origin story by its cover. Here we have another example of ingredients, presentation, and history swirling into a tipple that is far greater than the sum of its parts. A simple drink with an amazing story. As we oft find when researching cocktails, where the spirit flows - lay not far from misadventure.
There are multiple versions of this story, each bending fondly towards the narrator. Refreshingly, though, there’s a constant throughline tying them all together. Like the third act of a 90’s sitcom when all the storylines resolve with a resounding “awwwww” from the studio audience.
In this episode there are three concurrent storylines. Vodka, ginger beer, and copper mugs.
Fade in: Interior: France: Cold as balls in the winter of 1934. Two men sit at a small cafe table under a flickering glow. Both men are Russian and therefore, expressionless. After being exiled to France by the Bolsheviks Vladimir has just sold off the rights to his family’s vodka. Under Rudolph Kunetchansky the man’s name was translated to the French spelling, two F’s instead of a V, and thus began Smirnoff vodka.
Apparently, European universities hadn’t discovered jello shots yet because Smirnoff was less than a hit. Actually, it was tanking. So, in 1939 the brand was sold once again to spirits importer G.F. Heublein & Brothers, under the purview of an executive named John Martin. Martin was tasked with bringing the exotic eastern European flavors of vodka to the land of opportunity. U.S.A., baby!
Turns out, Americans really didn’t care about vodka. Prohibition had just ended. There was legal access once again to French brandy, Spanish wine, whiskey that wouldn’t blind you! Not to mention there was this weirdo out in Hollywood serving cocktails with different kinds of rums mixed together. And get this, his whole place is decorated like some sorta tropical museum! (That’ll never catch on.)
Queue the laugh track. Cut to commercial break.
Aaaand, fade in: Circa 1930’s: Russia: Interior: Bedroom: Whoa, whoa whoa! Fade back out. Wrong room. It’s the factory across the street! Ok, now fade in.
“Oh, papa! Papa! You promise I make copper mug”
“But, Sophie. We are in Russia. Why make mug so cold to hold?”
Sophie Berezinski’s father owned the Moscow Copper Company, and despite his chiseled exterior he had a soft spot for young Sophie. Thus, he let her stamp out 2,000 copper drinking mugs to try and sell. As it turns out, no one in Russia wanted to drink out of a cup that made their hands more frozen. All jokes aside, the idea may have been that a metal cup would warm your hands when filled with a hot liquid, but I imagine it would conduct too well and burn.
So, Sophie and her dream and her reluctant husband set sail for the land of opportunity! U.S.A., baby!
Interior: Small apartment: California:
“You see, what happened was….”
“Sophie, enough of what happen. Nothing happen, that is problem. You get mug out of house or I throw away!”
Cut to Sophie with a sad face and fade to commercial.
And we’re back: Interior: Setting: British style pub:
“You think you got problems, John? It was my dream to bring the best American-made ginger beer to the people! Now I’m lousy with it, and nobody wants it!”
“Yeah, dude. That’s a pretty weird dream, but I feel ya, brother.”
Jack Morgan owned the Cock ‘n Bull Tavern in Ocean Park, Los Angeles. He recently invested in what modern parlance would call a “shit ton” of ginger beer. It was good stuff! Even proprietarily branded with the Cock ‘n Bull name. But, again … there’s whiskey now. Plus, across town there’s a line around the building for that rum place. What’s it called, Bob the Beachroamer’s, or something?
The buddy Jack Morgan was lamenting to was none other than our friend John Martin, who was still having no luck getting Smirnoff to catch on. It was on that fateful day in 1941, as the two miserable mates sat laughing at their predicaments, in walked a small Russian woman dragging a loud clanking bag.
Queue audience surprise and fade to commercial.
Don’t you hate when there’s no bumper coming back from commercials and you miss it because your second bag of popcorn’s still in the microwave? We find our three hapless heroes sitting at the Cock ‘n Bull bar, Jack and John listening to this strange eastern block woman pitching them on the benefits of copper drinking mugs. Sophie Berezinski had been going door to door peddling her wares when she happened into the Cock ‘n Bull.
Legend has it, each with a plentitude of preponderant product, they joined forces. A Justice League of failed businesses. Story goes they sat at the bar for hours upon hours testing recipes that incorporated John’s Smirnoff with Jack’s ginger beer and the novel presentation of Sophie’s copper mugs.
It’s one of life’s mysteries how some things fit together so well it's a wonder not to always have been so. Earthy, palate cleansing ginger. Silky vodka hailing from the icey expanse. Served in a metallic vessel that not only keeps the drink cold but triggers a somatic sensation. That is, the sensation of holding the cold metal actually metaphysically transports you to a cold place.
Divine providence notwithstanding, I don’t believe this throuple spent hours coming up with the recipe. First of all, ginger, lime juice, and vodka? It pretty much writes itself. I mean, if I gave you those three things and asked you to create a tasty beverage I bet you’d nail it on the second try. Second, people had been mixing ginger beer with whiskey for quite some time. They weren’t mixing up the Mona Lisa over here.
Mules, sometimes called “Bucks”, are any drink made with ginger beer or ginger ale. Technically, a Moscow Mule is a vodka buck. One could order a bourbon buck, gin buck, or any buck your heart desires. Some say a mule is made with ginger beer and a buck with ginger ale but as you hardly see the term buck being used anymore it doesn’t really matter. These styles of drink have been around since the late 19th century and began as non-alcoholic. Ginger ale with a long lemon peel hung over the rim was called a Horse's Neck. Likey the aesthetic inspiration for Don Beach’s Cobra Fang.
A Scotch Lassie was a mixture of scotch, lime juice, and ginger beer that originated in the American south circa 1870. It was referred to as a Mamie Taylor for a time after the actress famously drank them at a bar in New York. Today that drink has deferred to its humble beginnings and is once again called a Horse’s Neck. Therefore, John, Jack, and Sophie pretty much ripped off an existing cocktail and simply upgraded the presentation. A modern bartender would call that a riff and expect us to act like they’re the greatest thing since Jerry Thomas.
But we cannot deny the marketing prowess of John Martin. To spread the word about his new cocktail he traveled coast to coast taking polaroids of bartenders holding a copper mug in one hand and a bottle of Smirnoff in the other. Counting on the ego of bartenders he knew they would hang the picture on the wall therefore providing free advertising. It worked so well this actually led to false claims of the drink being invented in other places.
An article in 1948 puts Jack Morgan and John Martin meeting at a bar in Manhattan trying to peddle their surplus wares. This is all but debunked by the fact that it leaves out Sophie and her mugs all together. Another story says it was actually a girlfriend of Jack’s who inherited a copper factory which supplied the mugs. This may have been the case if Sophie’s copper connect ran dry and a new supplier was later needed. Honestly, I think Sophie’s father and husband were done with her cockamamie schemes after the whole lugging 2,000 mugs across two continents debacle.
Though we don’t know for certain it’s easy to assume the name came from another burst of creativity, naming the drink after the spirit’s home country the same way a mule with tequila may be called a Mexican Mule. The drink, not the other kind of Mexican mule that carries cocaine across the border. Here in Nashville we have mules made with white moonshine which are quite delicious actually.
Speaking of those infamous copper cups. Though they’ve seen a resurgence in the craft cocktail revival, they’ve experienced their own fall from grace. From the establishment’s perspective, it’s hard to keep any unique drinkware from walking away. If any of you went to Miracle Christmas pop-ups you know you have to return the Santa hat wearing dinosaur mug before they’ll make you a new drink. Seems there’s a lot of amateur archeologists out there.
But that’s not the only factor plaguing the maligned mug. A 2017 study by the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages division concluded that due to acidity the PH values of Moscow Mules are such that hazardous levels of copper can dissolve into the beverage. Anyone who’s seen women dressed for the club in the middle of winter knows that sometimes appearance undermines practicality. Besides, a Moscow Mule without the copper mug is simply a highball. Not to fear, though. The copper mugs used in bars now are lined with stainless steel so you can once again get hammered on vodka without worrying about the health effects…?
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So, what the heck is in a Moscow Mule, anyway? Vodka, ginger beer, lime juice and Ice.
As far as picking a vodka, okay, get ready for a hot take that might ruffle some feathers, but it’s kinda all the same. Unless, that is, you get a really good quality Vodka that stands apart from its counterparts. In this I always reach for a bottle of Reyka craft vodka made in Iceland. I’ve sung these praises before, but it’s the only Vodka in which I can taste a distinct flavor besides basic alcohol. The grain comes through, and yet, there’s something else. A soft vegetal humidity that is prevalent in small batch distillates. You can taste that the methods of production incorporate some kind of old world knowledge or technique that imbues the spirit with a je ne sais quoi uncommon in mass produced brands.
Here at Pod Tiki, at least through the lens of the present, we urge you not to purchase or use Russian vodka in support of Ukraine. Which means if you want to remain pure to the origins and use Smirnoff, you’re in the clear. Although the recipe came from Russia, Smirnoff has been owned by British spirits giant Diageo since 1997. Smirnoff is currently produced in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Jamaica, Brazil, Argentina, India, Indonesia and Kenya. So, pretty much everywhere except Russia. By the way, Jamaica? Guys, if Wray & Nephew made a funky vodka I’d definitely give it a try.
I don’t think I need to explain the virtues of using fresh squeezed lime juice, always do. Which brings us to arguably the most important ingredient. If vodka is the spirit then ginger beer is the heart of this cocktail. As seen in the Horse’s Neck evolution, alcohol was really an afterthought. Whereas most cocktails are built to feature the spirit, vodka in this case takes a back seat to the bold flavors of citrus and ginger. But!, here’s another hot take. I don’t like Cock ‘n Bull brand ginger beer.
That’s right. I said it, I meant it, I’m here to represent it. Cock ‘n Bull ginger beer is way too spicy. So much so that it burns the palate out immediately. I couldn’t taste any of the other flavors. What’s the point? It really takes away from any balance this drink has. If this is the original Cock ‘n Bull Tavern ginger beer than the original Moscow Mule recipe must’ve been different. There’s no way anyone tried this drink with this ginger beer and thought, “Eureka!” The juxtaposition of cold in my hand and fire on my tongue, though an anomalous sensation, throws the whole experience off.
So many recipes out there talk about using the spiciest ginger beer you can find. It reminds me of when people thought triple IPA’s tasted good. You know the guys I’m talking about. Craft beer nerds stuffed into skinny jeans so they look like someone squeezed their bottom half up into their shirt. I’m not buying these macho macho men who like shit just because it’s extreme.
Cock ‘n Bull ginger is so overpowering that it takes away from the icey snap a Moscow Mule should have. That’s why, whenever I need it I use Reed’s Extra Jamaican ginger beer. I swear, they don’t endorse the show, but they should. Send me that Reed’s money because it’s hands down the best ginger beer available. It’s got a real ginger root flavor, earthy and floral, and has just enough spice for a kick. Jamaican ginger beer with some of that Jamaican Smirnoff? Now, that’s a good time.
Where Cock ‘n Bull is bright and spicy, Reed’s is deep and herbaceous. The former makes a spiked ginger beer, the latter, a balanced cocktail.
There’s this new trend lately, whether with mixed drinks, cigars, coffee, food, etc., of telling people to ultimately enjoy it the way they like it. I take umbrage with that. Although most of my life is lived in the gray-betweens I do believe in best practices. A right and a wrong way to get the most out of an experience. Yes, I claim to be a purest, but in the spirit of the law rather than the letter. Make the drink how the inventor meant it to taste. If that means an original product has changed thus that it no longer renders the desired outcome? I say, don’t trip over history on your way to a good drink.
Ok, that’s enough of that. I’m sure some of you are quoting Billy Joel at me right now so I will go ahead with my own life and leave you alone. P.s. Anyone out there remember that was the theme song to a sit-com called Bosom Buddies? Where Tom Hanks dressed in drag so he could live in a woman’s only apartment building. Everyone was so shocked when Modern Family came out. We had Bosom Buddies, Three’s Company, and Different Strokes when I was a kid. The 80’s had some progressive TV!
And to that, let’s make a drink!
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A Moscow Mule is:
2 oz Vodka
½ oz Lime Juice
3 oz Ginger Beer
Add all ingredients to a copper mug, fill with ice, and stir. If you choose to garnish with a lime wedge or wheel I suggest using a cocktail pick rather than sticking it on the rim. Just because over time the acid might ruin your mug.
Now this is a libation with a wonderful first sip experience. Crisp, clean, and polar, with a nuanced spice accentuated by carbonation. I’m not going to go into all kinds of tasting notes here because ginger is its own flavor. I’ll say it's bittersweet and vegetal and pairs very nice with the lime.
For as chill inducing as it is there’s an excellent texture of warm ginger and soft vodka. An underlying roundness that compliments the more rebellious flavors. The Moscow Mule is such a great post holidays hiemal libation. It works wonders at brightening up those gray winter doldrums. Like the glacial snap of a passing winter wind the Moscow Mule there but for circumstance may not have been. At least if you believe Jack Morgan, John Martin, and Sophie Berezinski.
I tend to, but there’s one man who begs to offer a less romantic version. Wes Price was the head bartender at Cock ‘n Bull in 1941. As he explains it, John had been using the basement of the bar to store his surfeit of Smirnoff which was collecting dust alongside Jack’s ambitious overstock of ginger beer. Wes contends he created the drink unceremoniously sometime in 1941 simply to clean out the basement.
This version from Wes was given in a 2007 Wall Street Journal article written by Eric Felton. I’m inclined to believe a seasoned bartender would be familiar with the popular whiskey/soda drinks of the day and swapping for vodka would be intuitive. So, this is plausible. But, in In 2007 Wes would’ve been at least in his 80s. Could this be a deathbed confession stifled by Big Mule? Or the ramblings of an old man grasping at glory?
One thing is for certain. Only the four people that were in the room where it happened know the truth. Jack, John and Sophie curl around the corner of the bar at Cock ‘n Bull raising a copper mug in cheers. And Wes, polishing glassware, turns to the camera, gives a wink, and the credits roll. What the hell does the truth have to do with a great cocktail anyway?
Till next time, folks. My name is Tony and this is Pod Tiki.
Sources: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh, Liquor.com (Behind the Drink: Moscow Mule by Gary Regan, and uncredited), MoscowCopper.com, MoscowMuled.com, Backbar: The History of the Mule Cocktail by Chrystal Ragasa, Wikipedia.