The Moscow Mule

by Ellis Murphy, Restaurant Manager

“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. The Violette Family helped. 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 lemon. Ice was ordered, lemons 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 days later the mixture was christened the Moscow Mule…” (George Sinclair, New York Herald Tribune, 2007)

Food & Wine writer Noah Kaufman posted these interesting factoids about the Mule:

1. The Moscow Mule combined two ingredients no one wanted at the time.
2. Those famous mugs were a stroke of serendipity.
3. It put Smirnoff Vodka on the map.
4. The Moscow Mule was almost a casualty of the cold war.

We have a few varieties of the Moscow Mule at Maui Country Club. The classic Moscow Mule is joined by a Top Shelf Mule: Stoli Vodka, Stoli Ginger Beer, Patron Citron and a lime squeeze. For the Whiskey lovers our Kentucky Mule is made with Jim Beam and Stoli Ginger Beer. There’s a GinGin Mule and our very own “Burro” with tequila…all served in a copper mug.

Adding variety to the Maui Country Club cocktail menu is an ongoing part of our mission to continually improve the Club for our members’ enjoyment. Bartenders Eddie, Pat and Dom make it happen!