National Moscow Mule Day – March 3, 2025

History of National Moscow Mule Day

Moscow Mule, made with vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice, is ranked the fifth most popular cocktail in the U.S., falling just behind the margarita, the martini, the old-fashioned, and mimosa. An interesting thing to note about the Moscow mule is that, contrary to popular belief, it was not created in Moscow or anywhere in Russia. Moscow mule was created at a bar called Cock ‘n’ Bull, in Los Angeles, in the 1940s.

As the story goes, during that period when brown spirits were ruling the liquor sales, a man named John G. Martin had trouble selling his Smirnoff vodka at a time. There was another man called Jack Morgan who owned a popular pub on the Sunset Strip and could not persuade his patrons to try his ginger beer. The last member of the trio was a woman named Sophie Berezinski who wanted to sell a few thousand copper cups. So, technically, the Moscow Mule was created by a bartender called Wes Price, who just combined two ingredients that wouldn’t sell on their own, and served it in a copper cup that he just bought.

The original Moscow mule has Smirnoff No. 21 vodka as its primary ingredient. In fact, the Moscow mule saved Smirnoff from going out of business, as, after the hit of the cocktail, the sales and demand for the vodka rose dramatically. To commemorate the significance of the Moscow mule in the history of cocktails, Smirnoff vodka declared March 3 as National Moscow Mule Day. To date, the Moscow mule continues to be one of the most beloved and popular cocktails in the U.S. because it’s simple to make, tastes great, is refreshing, and is everybody’s go-to cocktail.