Moscow Mule Mugs, Cock 'n' Bull and A Squeeze of Lime.

A mule or a buck in cocktail parlance is a cocktail comprised of ginger beer, citrus and spirit.  The Moscow Mule is traditionally served in a copper mug.  I found these beauties at a barn sale last weekend.   This is my kind of cocktail - nothing silly or fussy about it.  Although it is more of a summer drink, I just might have to run a special at Popolo.

 According to THE INTERNET, The birthplace of "Little Moscow" was in New York's Chatham Hotel, but the drink was made famous in L.A. That was back in 1941 when the first carload of Jack Morgan's Cock 'n' Bull ginger beer was railing over the plains to give New Yorkers a happy surprise... Three friends were in the Chatham bar, one John A. Morgan, known as Jack, president of Cock 'n' Bull Products and owner of the Hollywood Cock 'n' Bull Restaurant; John G. Martin, president of G.F. Heublein  Hartford, CT., Rudolph Kunett, president of Smirnoff. As Jack Morgan tells it, "We three were quaffing a slug, nibbling an hors d'oeuvre and shoving toward inventive genius". Martin and Kunett had their minds on their vodka and wondered what would happen if a two-ounce shot joined with Morgan's ginger beer and the squeeze of a lime. Ice was ordered, limes procured, mugs ushered in and the concoction put together. Cups were raised, the men counted five and down went the first taste. It was good. It lifted the spirit to adventure. Four or five minutes later the mixture was christened the Moscow Mule..."

And then supposedly, these guys also had a friend who had a copper mug factory and he had way to many copper mugs.  (Really?) So Jack had the mugs engraved with the names of celebrities who frequented his Hollywood restaurant, the Cock 'n' Bull (Really). And these mugs became the signature vessel for this particular cocktail. Oh, and they also had a friend who owned a lime factory (Not Really).



Moscow Mule Recipe


2 oz Vodka
1 oz Fresh Lime
4 oz Ginger Beer ( I recommend Maine Root Ginger Brew)