Wednesday, October 21, 2009

the moscow mule

Looking for an easy cocktail for fall? I recommend the Moscow Mule. It's light, spicy, and refreshing, and only contains three ingredients: ginger beer, vodka, and lime juice.

Like many other old-fashioned cocktails, the Moscow Mule was created by importers who had too much stock in something. In the 1940s, an importer named Jon Martin got together with Jack Morgan, the owner of Cock N Bull Tavern in Los Angeles and a struggling ginger beer franchise. It is said that the men combined Morgan's Ginger Beer with Smirnoff vodka, and christened the drink the Moscow Mule for Smirnoff's Russian origin plus the "kick" of the ginger beer. The cocktail was a hit and some say it was responsible for sparking Americans' taste for vodka.

Perhaps vodka drinks aren't that cool right now. Some mixologists say that vodka has gone out of fashion because it's characterless, unlike spirits such as gin or bourbon. But just because something is unfashionable doesn't mean it doesn't taste great. And for sheer ease, you can't beat a vodka-based drink.

Moscow Mule
From Imbibe magazine.
(Makes 1 drink)

2 oz. vodka
1 oz. fresh lime juice
4 oz. ginger beer (I like Reed's)
Ice cubes

Pour vodka and lime juice into ice-filled glass. Add ginger beer, stir and garnish.

8 comments:

Color Me Green said...

i was ALL about the moscow mule with ginger ale back in college. then i pretty much stopped drinking soda so cocktails went out of my life. one of these days i want to make my own ginger beer and i know exactly what cocktail i'm going to use it in.

Aron said...

If you want to make you own ginger beer there is an easier way. We make a ginger extract (ELIXIR G) with Fresh Ginger, Pure Cane Sugar, and Lemon. No artificial anything, just three easy to pronounce ingredients. They serve it at PF Chang's and Benihana if you have one close by to try.

Our Ginger Beer recipe is 1/2 oz ELIXIR G + club soda (or lemon lime soda if you like it sweet).

Hope that helps.
Aron
www.ELIXIRG.com

Lisa said...

Julia: Oh, this would be even better with homemade ginger beer. Great idea.

North: Thanks for commenting! I have made ginger simple syrup before and this sounds similar. Do you mix the extract with club soda?

Aron said...

Hi Lisa,

Yes, we have friends who mix with Club Soda. I've seen lots of posts on the web about making ginger syrups. As you know the best finished products start with the best ingredients.

We work with ginger farmers all over the globe and make several small taste batches first. The batch that has the best taste (most ginger spice) gets our order. We air freight the ginger to the US then make our product within 48 hours to ensure its freshness.

A lot of people don't believe us at first but 1/4 to 1/2 an ounce is plenty for 6-8 ounces of club soda. Yes, its that spicy :)

Daniel said...

What would you call the non-alcoholic version? A Moscow Mouse?

Lisa said...

Daniel: I think it's called "ginger beer and lime." Which is still very tasty!

Joanna Goddard said...

this sounds delicious!!!

H. Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

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