Moscow Mule vs Gin and Tonic - Thoughts?

Two pretentious drinks IMO

Only gin drink i like is a negroni

YellowSnow said:

UW_Doog_Bot said:

I will make a Moscow Mule that will have you faced on the floor before you realize it. Have done this to many people before who "didn't really like moscow mules". It was one of my family's favorite drinks going back to prohibition days and I was forced to make them from about the age of 13 for said family. As DDY said ABC and then the other key is your ginger beer which varies wildly in taste and quality but it MUST be relatively fresh. Muddling or slapping fresh mint can also drastically change the drink but isn't "required". The copper mug does make a difference but really any metal cup will do.

My go to is still a whiskey sour but the Moscow Mule is something that more of my friends(and more specifically the wife's friends) will drink so I end up making them regularly at the house.

What's the physics behind the copper mug improving flavor? Should I use mint? I have Reed's Ginger Beer and Stoli and plenty of ABC.

Copper has a low heat capacity and will make the drink "feel" colder than something of higher heat capacity. This affects how quickly the heat disperses as well which means your drink can actually get colder than 32 degrees since it's presumably got alcohol and ice in it. It will however, mean that your drink will melt more quickly. There may or may not be some other factors like increased carbon dioxide release or oxidizing from the copper itself but this is most likely not noticeable. Hence why I said any metal cup should be adequate but something like an aluminum cup would be better than say, an iron cup.

You should definitely use mint if you haven't before. Some people hate mint hence why I said optional but it's a great addition to the "ahhhhhhh" cool fresh taste of the mule if you like it. Slap da mint! It will release more flavors that way. Or you can muddle it if you really want a lot of mint flavor.

Reed's sucks IMO. Try Bundaberg. Costco usually sells it in a case. Either that or I'm sure there's a local brewery that makes it in Seattle if you want to get hipster about it. It's a bit like making root beer and your personal preference as such can vary quite a bit. If you are stuck with the TJ's selection I actually recommend using TJ's generic brand over Reed's. Stoli is probably my favorite mid tier vodka. It's probably overkill in a cocktail with that much sugar and you can get away with using something like sky or absolut honestly. Nothing wrong with better booze in a cocktail though if that's what you want to use!