[Lee Stewart]

One might assume that the Moscow mule hails from Russia, but it was actually invented in Los Angeles, California. One night in 1941, a man named John Martin (president of liquor company Heublein) walked into his friend Jack Morgan’s bar, the Cock ‘n’ Bull. The bartender there, Wes Price, was trying to get rid of ginger beer because no one was buying it, and Martin’s company had just acquired Smirnoff, so he had a surplus of vodka. They put the two together and it was an instant hit. As for the famous mug, Morgan’s girlfriend, Osalene Schmitt, inherited a copper goods business, so they deemed it a match made in heaven (and very effective marketing).