As cocktails go, the Moscow Mule is pretty simple to make: vodka, ginger beer and lime, served in a copper mug.
The story of its origin, and how it led to central Ohio, is decidedly more complicated – though, certainly, no less refreshing.
The drink’s beginnings are with the Cock ‘n Bull Restaurant, a Hollywood establishment that set up shop in 1939 and quickly became popular among the beautiful people. Owner John Morgan loved British culture, and he sought to make his eatery as authentic as possible, from the food and beverages to the dark wood and suits of armor.
Because ginger beer was so popular among Brits at the time, Morgan brought back a recipe from across the pond and began to make his own official Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer. It proved so popular that he began bottling it.
“People wanted to take it home because there was really no ginger beer in America,” says Dan Meyers, current owner of Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer.
In the early 1940s, Morgan met John Martin of East Coast distributor Heublein Inc. Heublein was best known for introducing A1 Steak Sauce to the world, and it sold wine to the Cock ‘n Bull, but it also happened to own a bankrupt vodka company – driven under by the public’s disdain for the taste of straight vodka and, to a certain extent, Americans’ feelings about Russia.
Morgan experimented with the vodka and soon found that it tasted good with his ginger beer, and even better with about half a lime added. He added a vessel – copper mugs were another British tradition Morgan had brought over – and the drink quickly began to take off, pulling Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer and the vodka brand (you might recognize its name: Smirnoff) up with it.
Because vodka was a Russian liquor and the drink had a kick to it, Morgan came up with the name “Moscow Mule.”
“They even used to advertise it as ‘the drink with a kick,’” Meyers says.
Cock ‘n Bull dropped out of favor as the Moscow Mule did in later decades, though it resurfaced briefly in the 1970s when the Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips chain began carrying it. It had a major resurgence in 2012, though, when Oprah Winfrey put a Moscow Mule kit, including Cock ‘n Bull, in her magazine’s “Favorite Things” list, telling her audience she and her friends loved to drink Moscow Mules with Cock ‘n Bull.
Meyers bought the company and, shortly thereafter, brought it to Columbus 20 years ago. Its offices are located in east Columbus.
Though closely tied to the Moscow Mule, Cock ‘n Bull is a great ginger beer in its own right, Meyers says, working well as a mixer or as a soft drink. Most people associate ginger beer with the Jamaican style, which is spicier; Cock ‘n Bull’s British style is more mellow and dry. It’s made in small batches with pure cane sugar and natural ingredients, and it’s sold in glass bottles.
“The flavor hasn’t changed from Jack Morgan’s recipe back then,” Meyers says.
Locally, Cock ‘n Bull is available in all Kroger stores, and Meyers is working to get it into more bars and restaurants.
“If you’re going to make a Moscow Mule – an authentic and original Moscow Mule – you’ve got to use Cock ‘n Bull,” says Meyers.
One of the bars to carry the ginger beer is the one at Brookside Golf & Country Club in northwest Columbus. Head bartender Jason Tewart introduced a “mug club” two years ago, allowing members to reserve their own engraved copper mugs that hang on the wall behind the bar, and has been serving old-fashioned Moscow Mules ever since.
“(Members) really like the drink,” Tewart says. “People try it once, and then it becomes their drink.”
In addition to the original ginger beer, Cock ‘n Bull also offers a diet version and a cherry version, and is working to add bitter lemon and bitter orange flavors as well.
I Get a Kick Out of You
You can order a Moscow Mule or Moscow Mule variant – albeit not necessarily with Cock ‘n Bull – at the following:
-Arch City Tavern, Short North
-Bodega, Short North
-Brothers Drake Meadery & Bar, Short North
-Cray Eatery & Drinkery, Italian Village
-Denmark on High, Short North
-Forno Kitchen + Bar, Short North
-Little Palace, downtown Columbus
-Mouton, Short North
-The Pearl, Short North
-The Rusty Bucket, multiple locations
-Sidebar 122, downtown Columbus
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.