The Moscow Mule

In today's world of Absolut and Grey Goose, it's hard to imagine a time when vodka needed a hand with boosting its popularity. Cosmopolitans and Apple-tinis owe their success to the original vodka cocktail- The Moscow Mule.

In 1941, John Martin (Who's company had recently bought the Pierre Smirnoff brand) and Jack Morgan (Owner of a famous Hollywood pub- which carried an in-house ginger beer) combined their products in a fit of 'inventive genius', as a way to offload their otherwise unsellable goods. They threw together a concoction of ginger beer, vodka, lime juice, and sprig mint in a copper mug and the Moscow Mule was born!

Martin then used a creative marketing technique to get more bars to start carrying their new creation. He bought one of the first Polaroid cameras and had bartenders pose with a Moscow Mule in its 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 this hot, new item.

It worked! Between 1947 and 1950, vodka sales more than tripled and nearly doubled in 1951- but the glory was short lived as the Moscow Mule's popularity began to dwindle in the 1960s. We are in luck, though, with the recent boom of high end bars and gastropubs, the Mule is coming back!

Just make sure to get yours in a copper mug, like how they are served here at Chapter One: the modern local.

Na zdorovie!