The story goes that John Martin sought a business opportunity by buying a vodka distillery in the 1940's. At the time, vodka was not a popular imbibement. Despite having the Smirnov family recipe, his distillery went under. He eventually ended up in Hollywood, where he stopped to eat at a tavern called the Cock 'n Bull on Sunset Avenue and met the owner, Jack Morgan. In addition to the little bar, Morgan brewed ginger beer, which was not selling well. The two eventually teamed up to combine vodka, ginger beer and a little lime to create the Moscow Mule. It was traditionally sold in copper mugs because a female friend of Morgan's had a back-stock of the cups from a recently inherited copper factory. Eventually Morgan was able to sell the ginger beer as a soda/mixer.
I'm quickly discovering that ginger beers all seem to come with that pungent ginger root odor. It's got a high level of carbonation but quickly reminds me of my first run in with ginger beer as it stings the back of the throat. While not as strong as the first ginger beer I ever had, this has that familiar heat that grows after taking a sip. Once again, not for me.
And though this is a soda blog, I do have some vodka and lime juice handy and decide to mix myself up a quick Moscow Mule. It certainly has a bit of a kick.
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