Drink of the Day: Moscow Mule
Happy Hump Day, everyone! We have made it to mid-week and the weather for us here in the gloomy Midwest is beginning to turn for the better. We may actually be able to see grass by mid-April if it keeps going like this!
Today, I have decided to introduce a drink that has made a dramatic comeback these last couple years. What many people don’t know is that this is the first vodka cocktail that helped make this spirit a household must-have. This is an intriguing story about a liquor that was trying to get a foot-hold on an, at the time, whiskey nation. The Moscow Mule was invented at the Chatham Hotel in Manhattan by three people who were passing time in the lounge of the hotel and all who were instrumental in bringing vodka to where it is as a popular spirit today. First was the producer of the Cock n Bull Ginger beer, Jack Morgan, who was also the proprietor of Cock n Bull Restaurant, a very popular spot on Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California. He happened to be in Manhattan to pick up a load of his ginger beer product. The other two were Rudolph Kunett, the President of the Heublein Bros. Distributing Vodka Division named “Pierre Smirnoff”, and John Martin, the President of Pierre Smirnoff’s mother company, G.F. Heublein.
A few years earlier, Rudolph Kunett had bought the rights to produce the Smirnoff brand in the United States from Vladimir Smirnoff, who was having a hard time keeping the company afloat due to the Soviet Revolution in the early 1900s. The Kunett family had sold grains to the Smirnoffs during the revolution, so they were very familiar with the brand. Mr. Kunett joined forces with John Martin to try to market the vodka as a “tasteless and odorless whiskey”.
Jack Morgan would take this cocktail back to his restaurant, where it would become a customer favorite. It died on the East Coast however. Now, since the craft cocktail movement, it has become a popular drink due to it’s presentation probably more than anything else. A copper mug is a must for this cocktail in my opinion.
Just a little more information regarding Smirnoff. Did you know that Smirnoff bought the rights to the cocktail that James Bond would make famous in the movie series? It would start the movement that vodka had been waiting for. Probably one of the best marketing stories in liquor history. Now, 25 percent of all liquor sold in total is vodka.
The photo of this cocktail was created by my friend, Bryan Blon, who I will be partnering up with to come up with a series of Bar Art Photos for your entertainment rooms. They will be numbered and sold on a limited basis. I will let you know more about this when we put everything together.
There’s your liquor history for the day. Hope you enjoy this fabulous Drink of the Day. Cheers!
Moscow Mule
2 oz. Vodka
Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic)
Two wedges of Lime
Method: Build this in a copper mug filled with ice by pouring in the vodka to measure. Top off with ginger beer. Squeeze in two wedges of lime. Tamp down the limes in the drink with a stir stick while stirring.
This Day in History:
1789 - The US Constitution went into effect.
1861 - Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States.
1917 - Jeannette Rankin took her seat as the first female elected to the House of Representatives.
1933 - Frances Perkins, appointed Secretary of Labor, became the first woman to serve in the US Cabinet.
Notable Birthday:
Famed Notre Dame football coach, Knute Rockne was born on this date in 1888.
Notable Quote:
“Most men, when they are thinking, are merely rearranging their prejudices.” - Knute Rockne
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