Liver Punisher Drink of the Month Club #1!

In what I hope will be a regularly updated section, I offer the first ever Liver Punisher Drink of the Month Club “Drink of the Month!”

Ah, June, where spring becomes summer and the mercury rises steadily in the day but can drop precipitously in the evening. When the weather demands a drink that is as cool and refreshing as it is hearty and bracing. What (oh what?!??) beverage is there in existence that can cool the body in the sun drenched daytime and warm the soul by night? Why none other than…

The Moscow Mule!

The Moscow Mule is not just a cocktail whose simplicity belies its deliciousness and overwhelming refreshmentitude, but it’s also socially significant to boot! The Moscow variant of the Mule—otherwise known as “Bucks,” a Mule is a combination of citrus juice, liquor, and a ginger flavored beverage—was created in 1941 by the bartender at the Cock’n’Bull tavern in Los Angeles and is generally considered to be the drink that introduced America to Vodka.

As stated above the Moscow Mule is simple to engineer, but here’s a quick look at the ingredients and a how-to incase this is your fist attempt at tending bar:

Ingredients:
Ice
Vodka
Lime wedges
Ginger Ale

What to do with them:
Into your favorite rocks glass (I like the Andy Warhol doubles I got for my birthday) place a healthy amount of ice. To this ice add 1.5-2oz. of your preferred Vodka [Russian-made potato vodka would be traditional and appropriate as this is a Moscow Mule, but since vodka can be made anywhere by anyone with anything that shit in the plastic jug at Giant Eagle will work, too. I guess]. Now a healthy squeeze of fresh lime juice, I like at least 1/8th of a lime in mine but that’s me. And finally top off your glass with a robust and flavorful ginger ale* or beer; I’m a Vernor’s man myself, but Hansen’s makes a terribly tasty ginger brew that’ll knock your ass off, and the diet version is actually good, too!

Oh, and if you want to make this really traditional, mix it all up in a copper mule cup, the way the fancy lads and lasses used to.

So, there it is: your June drink of the month. A cool, sweet-n-sour cocktail that’ll wash the heat off you, but with a spicy/boozy kick to stoke the fires on a chilly late fall/early summer’s eve.

*Making my own soon, definite posts to come on that front!