Black-Owned Spirits

Grapefruit Rosemary Moscow Mule

March 3rd is Moscow Mule Day! The Moscow Mule was invented in 1941 in New York City at a bar called Cock ‘n’ Bull by its head bartender, Wes Price. John G. Martin, an executive for Heublein drinks company - which bought Smirnoff Vodka - was having trouble getting people to try vodka, as it wasn’t very popular back then. The owner of Cock ‘n’ Bull, Jack Morgan, also had too much ginger beer inventory on hand. One thing leads to another, add a splash of lime and voila, the Moscow Mule was born.

The Moscow Mule is traditionally made of vodka, ginger beer and lime juice. However, I’ve remixed it with this recipe using grapefruit and rosemary simple syrup. It’s still refreshing and delicious with a bit of extra flavor and I must say, it’s delightful.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. vodka (I used Black-owned Black Storm vodka)

  • 3 oz. fresh grapefruit juice

  • 1 oz. fresh lime juice

  • .5 oz rosemary simple syrup*

  • Ginger beer, to top

*Add 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, about 3-4 sprigs of rosemary to water on a low/medium boil. Stir until all the sugar is melted and the rosemary softens. It should take about 10 minutes. Strain into a mason jar and let cool before use.

Instructions:

  1. Place all ingredients in your copper cup with ice, except the ginger beer, and stir.

  2. Top with ginger beer.

  3. Garnish with rosemary or grapefruit and enjoy!

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7 Cocktail Books Written by Black Authors

It’s hard to believe that when Shannon Mustipher published her book, Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails in 2019, it was the first cocktail recipe book written by a working Black American bartender and released by a major publisher in more than 100 years. It’s astonishing. ‘An Ideal Bartender’ by Tom Bullock was the first.

Black Americans have contributed significantly to cocktail culture. I’ve curated this list of cocktail books written by Black authors, in alphabetical order. If you know of any others. please comment so I can add them to the list, which I hope expands by leaps and bounds.

*Note: This post contains affiliate links.

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After Hours Cocktail Book

Martina Jackson

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Drink: The Ultimate Cocktail Book

Kurt Maitland

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Holy Spirits! Charleston Culture Through Cocktails

Taneka Reaves & Johnny Caldwell

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The Ideal Bartender

Tom Bullock

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The Infused Cocktail Handbook

Kurt Maitland

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Think Like a Bartender, Recipes for Life

L.D. Morrow

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Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails

Shannon Mustipher