One of the most popular drinks at 3 Sons Italian is our Mule. (Technically, MULES, because we offer three different kinds!) A Mule is a mix of lime, ginger beer and alcohol, but it’s the various types of other flavored alcohol that change the character of a Mule.

• A Moscow Mule uses Vodka
• 3 Sons Mule uses Blood Orange Vodka
• A Tuaca Mule uses Tuaca (a sweet brandy with citrus essences and vanilla)

Most people recognize a Mule by the copper mug in which it’s served, but not everyone knows the Mule’s history. Here’s a recap on the Mule’s origins:

There are a couple slightly different versions of how the copper mug came into play, but according to VinePair.com, the alcohol itself involved in the Moscow Mule came from an excess of supplies and a need to push product:

John G. Martin, head of Heublein & Brothers, had recently purchased Smirnoff distillery and found himself with a surplus of vodka. As Eric Felten reported for The Wall Street Journal back in 2007, Martin’s friend, Jack Morgan, owned Cock ‘n’ Bull bar in Los Angeles. Morgan was also swimming in a product he was pushing: his very own brand of ginger beer. One night, Morgan and Martin were hanging out with one of Morgan’s bartenders, Wes Price, who was also trying to get rid of product. “I just wanted to clean out the basement,” Price would say of creating the Moscow Mule. “I was trying to get rid of a lot of dead stock.” Dead stock meant Smirnoff vodka and ginger beer, of course. Price claims his concoction was first served to actor Broderick Crawford. After that, the drink “caught on like wildfire.”

One version of the mug’s origins is that Morgan’s girlfriend had inherited a business that made copper goods. Another version is that a Russian immigrant, Sophie Berezinski, brought 2,000 copper mugs to America in 1941 because her father failed to sell them. Sophie’s husband threatened to get rid of them if she didn’t sell them quickly. As luck would have it, Sophie stumbled into the conversation between Martin and Morgan when trying to hock her mugs.

Regardless of its history, we’re happy to offer the Mule at 3 Sons!

We are committed to our community! We are very grateful for the success we have experienced since relocating to Northwest Arvada in June 2009.  To give back to our community, we are hosting a Wine Dinner to benefit Mother Cabrini Shrine on Wednesday, January 23, 2018. Tickets were sold at their Gala last year and 45 guests paid $100 each to be part of the dinner. We are sooooo happy we are able to help in a small way!

If you have any need for a fundraiser evening, please contact us at the number below.

Enter our monthly contest for a chance to win a free bottle of wine or 10% off your check. Just leave a review on our Facebook page (Under “Recommendations and Reviews”) and we’ll choose one winner each month!

Buon Appetito!    

3 Sons Italian Restaurant & Bar

14805 West 64^th Ave., Arvada

303-455-4366

www.3sonsitalian.com