Moscow Mule is very much related to Smirnoff vodka. Pyotr Smirnov founded the Smirnoff distillery in Moscow in 1864, unfortunately passed away in 1898 and his son Vladimir Smirnov took over.

In the 19^th century vodka wasn’t very popular and trade. During the October Revolution of 1917, the Smirnov family had to escape from the country. In the 1930s, Vladimir met Rudolph Kunett, a Russian who had emigrated to America in the 1920s and became a successful businessman in New York City.

In 1933, Vladimir would sell the brand to Kunett. However, in 1938 Kunett could not afford to pay for the necessary sales licenses and contacted John Martin, president of Heublein. Heublein was a company that specialized in import and export liquors and foreign foods. Martin bought the rights for $14,000 to Smirnoff in 1938.

In a marketing strategy, they changed the product using whiskey corks instead and branded it as a “white whiskey” with “no taste, no smell”. Sales picked up but not too much.

The cocktail was created in 1946 at Cock ‘n’ Bull Tavern in Sunset Boulevard. Mr Martin was chatting with a ginger beer investor, they mixed the vodka with ginger beer, squeeze lime into the mug and Moscow Mule was born. 

Although the marketing strategy didn’t stop there, they acquired Polaroid cameras and went from bar to bar photographing bartenders posing with bottles of Smirnoff vodka and copper mugs of Moscow Mule and make deals with the owners.