VinDivine

OK bitches, it’s Alcoholic weekend…or simply “weekend”…time here at VdV HQ. This summer we’ve discovered a couple ragingly delish cocktails. The aforementioned Aperol Spritz, which we had the pleasure of meeting the acquaintance of in Capri, Italy and the Moscow Mule, who we instantly got along with like an old friend with, first at Bar 89 in NYC. And now, back in SF I ride that mule like my bitch (but more often than not, get ridden) at one of our fave neighborhood spots, Paragon. Those kids concoct a killer Mule that packs a kick, and it’s all legit – using Russian Vodka and served up in a copper mug that keeps the elixir icy cold.

So what is a Moscow Mule, you ask? For the uninitiated, it’s made with…wait. First a little history of the Mule, which of course was not invented in Russia. Peruse the following, and come away a bit more enlightened:

The mule was born in Manhattan but “stalled” on the West Coast for the duration. The birthplace of “Little Moscow” was in New York’s Chatham Hotel. That was back in 1941 when the first carload of Jack Morgan’s Cock ‘n’ Bull ginger beer was railing over the plains to give New Yorkers a happy surprise… Three friends were in the Chatham bar, one John A. Morgan, known as Jack, president of Cock ‘n’ Bull Products and owner of the Hollywood Cock ‘n’ Bull Restaurant; one was John G. Martin, president of G.F. Heublein Brothers Inc. of Hartford, Conn., and the third was Rudolph Kunett, president of the Pierre Smirnoff, Heublein’s vodka division. As Jack Morgan tells it, “We three were quaffing a slug, nibbling an hors d’oeuvre and shoving toward inventive genius”. Martin and Kunett had their minds on their vodka and wondered what would happen if a two-ounce shot joined with Morgan’s ginger beer and the squeeze of a lime. Ice was ordered, limes procured, mugs ushered in and the concoction put together. Cups were raised, the men counted five and down went the first taste. It was good. It lifted the spirit to adventure. Four or five later the mixture was christened the Moscow Mule…

“OK, enough of the mindless drivel, so WTF is in it?”, is what you really wanna know. Alright, alright here goes:

- 2 parts RUSSIAN vodka. It’s a Moscow mule, people. You don’t wanna piss off the folks at the Kremlin. That said, I think Smirnoff means “You’re gonna feel like shit tomorrow” in Russian. Paragon uses Russian Standard, which is much better. Bottom line: Life is short. Upgrade your Vodka. Ok. back to the recipe…
- 3 parts Ginger beer (no substituting ginger ale)
- 1/2 part fresh lime juice
- exactly 1 skosh of simple syrup
- (optional) a mint sprig

Oh, yeah serve it on the rocks. But unless you’re a moron you knew that (didn’t you, you non-moronic person, you?). And put it in a copper mug. Copper on the OUTSIDE only, non-copper metal on the inside.  Don’t drink pennies.

I really don’t know for sure what the exact proportions are but my highly trained senses tell me the above is pretty close. But that’s why I leave it to the pros like Isiah, Matt, Kate, Spencer, Nils, Ken at Paragon to whip it up for me!