Oggi Moscow Mule Copper Mug & The Moscow Mule Recipe & History

I'm a big fan of the cocktail called a Moscow Mule, a combination of Vodka, Ginger Beer and Lime. I was introduced to this tasty drink by my folks who live in Charleston, SC where the drink is understandably popular seeing as how they have humid weather and this is a crisp refreshing drink.

After falling in love with this drink I asked for a set of Copper Moscow Mule Mugs for Christmas. I got the Oggi brand from Amazon as a gift from my parents so just wanted to do a quick review as well as share the recipe and history of the Moscow Mule

My Review of Oggi Moscow Mule Copper Mugs

Mix up a classic Moscow Mule in this Oggi Moscow Mule Mug. Handcrafted from stainless steel with a copper plated exterior and a brass handle, it's the authentic way to serve up this classic vodka cocktail. Hand wash only. Not for use in the microwave. Capacity 20 oz. Create your own Moscow Mule at home: Fill your Moscow Mule Mug with ice. Add 2 ounces of vodka, half an ounce of lime juice and top with ginger beer and a sprig of mint. This mug is also ideal for enjoying cool, refreshing drinks year round. The perfect drinking companion for hot summer afternoons, the traditional copper mug becomes chilly to the touch when filled with the iced beverage of your choice.

My Parents surprised me with this mug as a Christmas gift. I had always mentioned when we'd be out for drinks how I wanted one of these, but we could never seem to find them in stores. The mug is solid, heavy duty, and sharp looking. Makes for the perfect vessel for a Moscow Mule or Dark and Stormy.

Moscow Mule Recipe
Moscow Mule
Ingredients:
– 1 1/4 oz Smirnoff vodka
– 3 oz. ginger beer
– 1 tsp. sugar syrup
– 1/4 oz. lime juice
– 1 sprig mint
– 1 slice lime
In a copper mug, pour vodka over ice. Add sugar syrup and lime juice. Top with ginger beer and stir. Garnish with mint sprig and lime slice.

* Personally I leave out the sugar syrup or simple syrup as I don't like overly sweet drinks and find the Ginger Beer itself adds plenty of sweetness. I also opt specifically for Crabbies Brand Ginger Beer as it's the only one I feel like adds the right taste.

The History Of The Moscow Mule

History of Moscow Mule:

The story of the Moscow Mule begins in 1939 when a nearly brokeRussian ex-pat, Rudolph Kunett, sold the Smirnoff brand to John Martin, head of G.F. Heublein & Bros.  Eventually John Martin used the Moscow Mule to help promote vodka to bars across the US and this helped fuel the mainstream acceptance of vodka as the preferred white spirit, replacing gin.

John Martin long claimed that he invented the Moscow Mule along with his friend, Jack Morgan, owner of the olde-English style pub named the Cock’n’Bull, located on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip.  The Cock’n’Bull had a house brand of ginger beer bottled in stoneware crocks.  Martin and Moran claimed that a fit of “inventive genius” led them to combine their respective products.  More likely, is the story told by Morgan’s head bartender, Wes Price, who maintained that the drink was fashioned sometime in 1941 in an effort to offload otherwise unsellable goods.

They ordered specially engraved copper mugs and Martin set off to market it in the bars around the country. He bought one of the first Polaroid cameras and asked barmen to pose with a Moscow Mule copper mug and a bottle of Smirnoff vodka. Then he would leave one copy of the photo at the bar and take a second copy to the bar next door to show them that their competitors were selling their concoction. Between 1947 and 1950, thanks to their invention, Smirnoff vodka case columns more than tripled and nearly doubled in 1951.

In particular, the drink caught on with the Hollywood crowd until 1950 when not unlike a few Hollywood screenwriters, Smirnoff and its flagship drink, the Moscow Mule, took heat for the Russian association.  Assuming that Smirnoff was a Russian import, unionized bartenders in New York announced a Moscow Mule boycott, refusing to “shove slave labor liquor across the wood in any American saloon.”

Smirnoff rushed to testify that its vodka was not, and never had been a member of the Communist Party.  In support, Walter Winchell wrote in 1951, “The Moscow Mule is US made, so don’t be political when you’re thirsty.  Three are enough, however, to make you wanna fight pro-Communists.”

Sadly, popularity of the beverage faded in the 1960s with the era of the groovy new disco scene and the intitaitive by the Smirnoff marketing department to re-name the drink the “Smirnoff Mule.”  However, the Moscow Mule has recently enjoyed a resurgence, mostly at upscale establishments that have taken the trouble to acquire the copper mugs for proper presentation.