Moscow Mule
Vodka, fresh lime and spicy ginger beer over ice in a cold copper mug: the 1940s American drink that sold a nation on vodka, and its famous mug.
In 1941 vodka was a hard sell in America and so was ginger beer. The usual story puts three men together: John G. Martin of G.F. Heublein Brothers, which had bought the rights to Smirnoff vodka; Jack Morgan, who owned the Cock 'n' Bull restaurant in Hollywood and made his own ginger beer; and Rudolph Kunett, head of Heublein's vodka division. Where they mixed it is disputed. Wikipedia cites a 1948 New York Herald Tribune account placing the first one at the Chatham Hotel bar in New York, while most retellings put it at the Cock 'n' Bull; a 2007 Wall Street Journal article credits Cock 'n' Bull bartender Wes Price, who said he was clearing out old stock (Wikipedia; Difford's Guide). The copper mug made it famous: Martin photographed bartenders with a mug and a bottle of his vodka to show other bars what they were missing (Wikipedia; Difford's). Who supplied the mugs is folklore, with competing stories about Morgan's girlfriend inheriting a copper business and a Russian immigrant selling 2,000 mugs, the second promoted by a copper-mug company (VinePair and InsideHook, search summaries).
🇺🇸 This one is American
Vodka, fresh lime and spicy ginger beer over ice in a cold copper mug: the 1940s American drink that sold a nation on vodka, and its famous mug.
🇨🇺 The original
The original daiquiri is three things shaken hard with ice: Cuban white rum, fresh lime juice and sugar, served straight up and very cold. See the Cuban Daiquiri recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Ginger beer does the heavy lifting
Real ginger heat and sweetness give a neutral spirit like vodka something to carry, and the lime keeps it from tasting like soda.
A cold metal mug
Copper and steel conduct heat fast, so the mug gets frosty and the drink feels colder in the hand.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Built. Chill a lined copper mug (or a highball glass) in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Fill the mug with ice cubes.
- Step 3
Pour in the vodka and lime juice.
- Step 4
Top with the ginger beer, pouring slowly so it does not foam over.
- Step 5
Stir gently with a bar spoon for 3 to 5 seconds, just to mix without knocking out the bubbles.
- Step 6
Add the lime wheel and mint sprig and serve right away.
Moscow Mule
Serves 1 · 1 drink · 2 min total
Drink
- 2 oz (60 ml) vodka
- 1/2 oz (15 ml) fresh lime juice
- 4 oz (120 ml) cold ginger beer (non-alcoholic, spicy style)
- Ice cubes (or half cubes, half crushed)
Garnish
- 1 lime wheel
- 1 small mint sprig (optional)
Method
- Method: Built. Chill a lined copper mug (or a highball glass) in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Fill the mug with ice cubes.
- Pour in the vodka and lime juice.
- Top with the ginger beer, pouring slowly so it does not foam over.
- Stir gently with a bar spoon for 3 to 5 seconds, just to mix without knocking out the bubbles.
- Add the lime wheel and mint sprig and serve right away.
Adapted from the IBA spec in Wikipedia's infobox (45 ml vodka, 10 ml lime juice, 120 ml ginger beer, on the rocks in a copper mug with a lime slice) and Difford's Guide's build (2 oz vodka, 1/2 oz lime, a little rich syrup, 3 oz ginger beer, crowned with crushed ice). We use 2 oz vodka, 1/2 oz lime and 4 oz ginger beer and leave out the syrup, since most ginger beers are already sweet. en.wikipedia.org. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Use ginger beer, not ginger ale; ginger ale is too mild and too sweet here.
- Copper mug safety: choose one lined with stainless steel or nickel, or use a glass (see Drinking safety baseline).
- Swap vodka for bourbon (a Kentucky mule) or tequila (a Mexican mule).
- Our math: about 1.3 US standard drinks, assuming 80-proof vodka.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- It was invented at the Cock 'n' Bull in Hollywood. Disputed: the most common telling; a 1948 Herald Tribune account places it at the Chatham Hotel in New York (Wikipedia); Difford's says date and place are disputed, between 1941 and 1946.
- Bartender Wes Price invented it. Disputed: the 2007 Wall Street Journal account (Wikipedia; Difford's) against the three-businessmen story.
- The copper mugs came from Morgan's girlfriend, or from Sophie Berezinski. Folklore: both stories circulate; the Berezinski one is promoted by a mug company (search summaries).
- Copper mugs can be unsafe. Documented as official advice for unlined copper (Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, 2017, and the FDA Food Code, via Wikipedia); a chemist quoted by Wikipedia thinks one drink's contact time is too short to matter. Use a lined mug.
Every other cocktail
Classic Margarita
Blanco tequila, orange liqueur and fresh lime, shaken hard and poured over fresh ice in a half salt-rimmed glass: the sour that Mexico, Texas and California all claim.
Frozen Margarita (Dallas, 1971)
The margarita as Texas made it famous: tequila, orange liqueur, lime and a little syrup blended with crushed ice into a smooth, spoonable slush, the drink a Dallas restaurateur put in a machine in 1971.
Cuban Daiquiri
The original daiquiri is not pink and not frozen: white rum, fresh lime and a little sugar, shaken ice cold and strained into a chilled coupe, the way it was made in Cuba before America put it in a blender.
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
How America remade the Cuban daiquiri: white rum, lime and sugar blended with frozen strawberries and crushed ice into a thick red slush, the version that came with the electric blender.
Cuban Mojito
Havana's highball: mint pressed gently with lime and sugar, white rum, a mound of crushed ice and a splash of soda, built and churned right in the glass.
Negroni (and the Americano)
Equal parts gin, red bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth, stirred cold and served over one big cube with orange: Italy's bittersweet classic, plus the older "American-style" Americano it came from.
Old Fashioned (the Whiskey Cocktail)
The drink that defined the word cocktail: whiskey, a little sugar, bitters and water, stirred over one big cube with an orange peel, before fruit salad got muddled into it.
Manhattan
Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters stirred ice cold and served up with a cherry: New York's whiskey classic, and a famous origin story that cannot be true.
Tom Collins
Gin, lemon and sugar shaken, poured over ice in a tall glass and lengthened with soda: a sparkling lemonade for grownups, named, maybe, after a newspaper hoax.
Piña Colada (Caribe Hilton style)
Puerto Rico's official drink: white rum, sweet cream of coconut, a splash of heavy cream and fresh pineapple juice blended with ice, the way the Caribe Hilton shares its 1954 recipe.
Mai Tai (Trader Vic, 1944)
The real mai tai is not pink and has no pineapple juice: aged rum, lime, orange curaçao, almond orgeat and a touch of syrup, shaken and poured over crushed ice with mint and a spent lime shell.
Paloma
Mexico's everyday highball: blanco tequila, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt topped with cold grapefruit soda over ice, built in the glass in under two minutes.
Gin and Tonic
London dry gin and cold tonic water over plenty of ice with a squeeze of lime: the two-ingredient highball with a malaria-medicine backstory that is half history and half legend.
Virgin Mojito (Nojito)
All the mint, lime and fizz of a mojito with no alcohol at all: mint pressed with lime and syrup, crushed ice and plenty of club soda, built in the glass in four minutes.
Shirley Temple
The original American mocktail: cold ginger ale and a pour of grenadine over ice, with two maraschino cherries, the pink drink named for a child star who said she never liked it.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.