Drink of the Week: Moscow Mule

I know that St. Patrick’s Day is this weekend, but I’m not going to insult you by blogging about some kind of green cocktail or — worse — green beer. Instead I will wow you with a Moscow Mule and, if colour is really a consideration for your Sunday night festivities, I suppose a couple drops of Green No. 3 would do the trick.

Last weekend my husband and I and another couple attended Crowbar, a pop-up cocktail lounge. Crowbar is the brainchild of local foodie Wade Sirois, of Forage and Infuse Catering; every couple months he organizes an evening of craft and classic cocktails, plus some appetizers and small plates, in a different location. The pop-up lounge is a spin-off of the pop-up trend that has seen everything from restaurants to ice skating rinks appear overnight in surprising venues in cities around North America and abroad.

Blake and I attended our first Crowbar at the Art Gallery of Calgary last spring. I wrote about it for the Calgary Herald. Photo by Christina Ryan.

This Crowbar took place inside Calgary’s National Music Centre and so, fittingly, featured live jazz by Johnny Summers. We had a great night listening to music and sampling diverse drinks. The men loved Remember the Maine, a barrel-aged cocktail not unlike a Manhattan, made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, cherry mariner and absinthe. The Planter’s Punch was delish; the exotic Pegu Club Cocktail (gin, Cointreau, lime juice, bitters) was too, but if I’m drinking cocktails all night, give me a Moscow Mule. Its mix of vodka, ginger beer and lime is refreshing, balanced and not too boozy. Happy St. Parick’s Day!

I liked most of the drinks on the menu, but the Moscow Mule is one I could drink all night (an important consideration for St. Pattie’s Day).

Moscow Mule

• 2 oz Square One vodka
• Lime wedge (1/8 of lime)
• Top with Fentiman’s ginger beer

Pour vodka over ice in a copper mug. Squeeze lime wedge in and drop the wedge into the mug. Top with ginger beer. Replica mugs available from The Crafty Bartender out of Toronto.

— Recipe courtesy Wade Sirois