Cocktail recipe
Moscow Mule
Cold vodka, lime and ginger beer crackle together in a spicy, effervescent highball.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) vodka
- 15 ml (½ oz) fresh lime juice
- 120 ml (4 oz) chilled, spicy ginger beer
- Garnish: 1 lime wedge
Preparation
Fill a lined copper mug or highball with hard, fresh ice. Pour in vodka and lime, then top slowly with icy ginger beer. Give the drink one short lift from the bottom—never shake the carbonation—and wedge a lime at the rim.
Glassware
Food-safe lined copper mug or highball glass, cubed ice
History
The Moscow Mule emerged in Los Angeles around 1941, at the intersection of a vodka-marketing campaign and the Cock 'n' Bull's ginger beer. Smirnoff promoter John G. Martin and pub owner Jack Morgan are central to the commercial story, but bartender Wes Price later claimed he actually assembled the drink to use up stock. A copper-mug company credits Sophie Berezinski with supplying the vessel, a family/company account that is not independently conclusive proof she co-invented the recipe. Martin's later Polaroid bar promotions helped spread the mug and drink nationwide. Despite its name, this is an American cocktail, not a Russian one.
Mixology View
Copper is a branding icon, not a required ingredient. Use a food-safe lined mug or glass, and choose assertively spicy ginger beer so the cocktail tastes alive rather than like sweet soda.