Moscow Mull, a cocktail with a Russian name, but born in America. This blended drink with "kickback" is a combination of vodka, ginger beer and lime, traditionally served in recognizable copper mugs.
The drink was invented in the United States when John G. Martin acquired the rights to the Smirnoff vodka brand in 1939 for the small liquor and food company Heublein. Meanwhile, Jack Morgan, his friend and owner of the Cock'n'Bull Saloon, tried to launch his own brand of ginger beer, but sales weren't going well.
Legend has it that two buddies met at New York City's Chatham Bar and discussed how to make their unprofitable commercial projects work. All ingenious is simple: they decided to mix John's vodka and Jack's ginger beer with the addition of lime juice, and thus created the Moscow Mule cocktail.
The story sounds beautiful, but there is another version. She's less elegant, but more believable. Eric Felton wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal in 2007 claiming that the drink was invented by Wes Price, Cock'n'Bull's main bartender (the same bar that Jack Morgan owned). This invention was, in essence, an attempt by a bartender to dispose of a stock of beer stored in the basement of a pub he wanted to free. The drink quickly gained popularity and, perhaps, Jack Morgan decided to take ownership of the creation of the recipe and launched a series of successful marketing moves. Wes Price resigned in 1953, stating that "was not truly appreciated and did not receive a dime from his invention."
While it's safe to say that the combination of vodka and ginger beer helped Jack and John promote their product, the success of the drink was also heavily influenced by the copper mugs engraved with a mule. After all, as you know, everything that stands out from the crowd helps sales. This idea belongs to a certain emigrant named Sophie Berezinski, who inherited an unprofitable copper dishware factory from her father.
One of the most successful marketing campaigns in cocktail history was a collaboration of three seemingly self-defeating beginnings in one of the most popular drinks of the 1950s and early 1960s. Smirnoff vodka commercials and posters in various countries across the country featured celebrities such as Woody Allen, Monique Van Vooren, Julie Newmar, "Killer" Joe Piro and Dolores Hawkins enjoying the drink.
The result was a wild rise in popularity. Moscow Mule has become a sales leader for several years. Copper mugs were soon ordered all over the country, because the use of these utensils is a mandatory part of the recipe.
In 1947, when Edwin H. Land invented the Polaroid camera, the Moscow Mule was already on the menus of many bars. Having bought this camera, Martin went from bar to bar, photographing bartenders with a bottle of Smirnoff vodka in one hand and a Moscow Mule cocktail in the other. He took two photographs. He left one in the bar, and showed the other to the bartender in the next drinking establishment, telling and teaching the recipe for this cocktail. This is how Moscow Mule gained widest distribution with the help of John's ingenious marketing ploy.
The slogan “He will blow the spirit out of you” also contributed to the successful promotion of the brand.
There is still room for black PR. At the height of McCarthyism (Senator Joseph McCarthy's campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions), rumors circulated about the involvement of the once-Russian Smirnoff vodka in an anti-American conspiracy. Then the American bartenders announced a boycott of this mixed drink. Newspaper-covered rallies were held, which only fueled interest.
The origin of the name is a matter of controversy and controversy. According to one version, "Mule" symbolizes the tenacity of entrepreneurs promoting a new cocktail. According to another, the power of intoxication was compared to the blow of a mule's hoof.
One thing is for sure - the prefix "Moscow" is a tribute to Smirnoff vodka, once produced in Moscow.
