Don't Be So Political When You're Thirsty

Eric Felten, the Wall Street Journal's resident mixologist, focues his attention this week on one of JB's favorites, The Moscow Mule (sub req):

Hopper's error didn't derail the cocktail's progress, which Martin and Morgan promoted by having mule-engraved copper mugs made. They hyped the thousands of cups stolen by over-eager customers; Smirnoff would later sell the mugs nationwide. The Moscow Mule is still properly made in a copper mug, originals of which can regularly be found on eBay.

When the drink got its name, Uncle Joe Stalin and Uncle Sam were allies, if not exactly pals. But by 1950, not unlike a few Hollywood screenwriters, Smirnoff and its flagship drink were taking heat for their Russian association. Assuming Smirnoff was a Soviet import, unionized bartenders in New York announced a Moscow Mule boycott, refusing to "shove slave labor liquor across the wood in any American saloon." Smirnoff rushed to testify that its vodka was not, and never had been, a member of the Communist Party -- and got some help from Walter Winchell: "The Moscow Mule drink is U.S. made, so don't be so political when you're thirsty," he wrote in May 1951. "Three are enough, however, to make you wanna fight pro-Communists."

The Mule survived the red scare, but couldn't weather the nuttier notions of the marketing department. In 1965, the drink was relaunched as the Smirnoff Mule, complete with a massive ad campaign targeting the groovy new "discotheque" scene. This being the era of the Frug, the Mashed Potato and the Shrug, the Smirnoff folks figured they could use a novelty dance of their own. The company hired dancer "Killer Joe" Piro to create a sort of deranged Watusi to go along with an overgrown boogaloo jingle performed by Skitch Henderson and Carmen McRae. "Stand stubborn/Stop sudden/Look cool," implored the lyric. "Turn it on/Take it off/The Smirnoff Mule!" And that was that: The drink didn't fade away; it just died of sheer embarrassment.

And what a pity, because the Moscow Mule is a terrific summer refresher, and well worth the effort of seeking out ginger beer, a soft drink with the spicy bite that ginger ale only wishes it had. Or just find one of the growing number of bars that have revived the drink in the past few years, such as AZ88 in Scottsdale, Ariz., Bar 89 in New York's SoHo neighborhood, and PX in Old Town Alexandria, Va. -- all of which have taken the trouble to acquire copper mugs for proper presentation.

Nothing better on a hot summer day. Gotta have it in the copper mug though.

UPDATE: "Moscow Mule" would be a great title for a hardboiled noir mystery set in the late '40s at the onset of the Cold War. A hard-drinking detective, a beautiful Russian exile whose loyalties are unclear, missing atomic documents, and a dead scientist: the book just about writes itself. A quick perusal of Amazon shows a Moscow travel guide bearing that name, but nothing in the fictional genre.