National Moscow Mule Day Date in the current year: March 3, 2024

The Moscow mule, also known as vodka buck, is a type of buck, i.e. a cocktail made with a base liquor, ginger ale or ginger beer, and citrus juice. It consists of vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice. The Moscow mule is one of the official cocktails of the International Bartender Association that has included it in the “contemporary classics” category. The cocktail is famously served in a copper mug rather than a glass.

The Moscow mule was created in 1941 by a group of three people: Jack Morgan, the owner of the Cock ‘n’ Bull restaurant in Hollywood and president of Cock ‘n’ Bull Products; John G. Martin, the president of Heublein Spirits; and Rudolph P. Kunett, the president of Heublein’s vodka division Pierre Smirnoff. While having a drink at the Chatham Hotel Bar in New York and commiserating with each other about low sales, they came up with the idea to combine Cock ‘n’ Bull’s ginger beer with Smirnoff vodka and lemon juice.

The person credited with introducing the signature copper mug is Sophie Berezinski, a Russian immigrant who brought 2,000 pounds of copper mugs with her to the United States. Upon her arrival to Los Angeles, she went door-to-door in Hollywood looking for an establishment that needed drinkware. One day she offered her mugs to Morgan, who used them to serve the Moscow mule at his Cock ‘n’ Bull pub.

The original Moscow mule consists of 24 parts ginger beer, 9 parts vodka, and 2 parts lime juice. Vodka and ginger beer are combined in a copper mug or a highball glass filled with ice, then lime juice is added. The ingredients are stirred gently and garnished with a lime slice.

Due to the popularity of the Moscow mule, countless variations of the cocktail using different liquors have emerged. Their names usually reflect the liquor used in the cocktail. For example, Glasgow mule is made with Scotch whisky, Irish mule with Irish whiskey, Jamaican mule with spiced rum, Mexican mule with tequila, Tennessee mule with Tennessee whiskey, etc. Some American and Canadian bars have renamed the classic version of the cocktail the Kyiv mule to protest the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

National Moscow Mule Day was created by Smirnoff, a world-famous vodka brand that was founded in the Russian Empire but is now owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The date of the holiday, March 3 (3/3), is a reference to the three primary ingredients of the cocktail. Since its inception, National Moscow Mule Day has found the support of other vodka brands such as Grey Goose. The holiday is also promoted by the Moscow Copper, a producer of authentic Moscow mule mugs.

How can you celebrate National Moscow Mule Day? Of course, by drinking Moscow mule! You can go out to your favorite bar or make a Moscow mule at home – it is one of the simplest cocktails to make, and the ingredients are easy to come by! If you’re not a fan of the classic Moscow mule or want to get creative, you can try one of the cocktail’s many variations. And don’t forget to spread the word about the holiday on the social media with the hashtags #NationalMoscowMuleDay and #MoscowMuleDay.