LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2019

ORIGINS

A NEW (BUT VERY OLD) SPIRIT

In the late 1930s, a man named John Martin was the president of Heublein Inc., best known for A1 Steak Sauce. Martin decided to take a chance on a product Ameri- cans hadn’t yet tried, called vodka. He purchased the recipe and rights for Smirnoff Vodka, (once known as the vodka of choice for the czars, before the Bolshevik Revolution saw Smirnoff heir Vladimir Smirnov flee the country with his family’s secret recipe). Nothing Martin did could convince people to try this strange clear spirit. He even tried to market it as “white whiskey,” but there were no takers. It is said his gamble nearly sent the company into bankruptcy. It sounds like the plot to an in- spiring movie, but it’s true. Martin was discussing his failure with friend Jack Morgan, owner of the Cock ’n Bull restaurant in L.A. Morgan had trouble of his own, having banked on a new soda called ginger beer, which was not proving popular and had left him with large quantities in storage. It is rumoured that they also had a friend who owned a copper fac- tory in Russia, which set the stage for the simplest marketing idea in spirits history. With help of bar- tender Wes Price, the team mixed Smirnoff and ginger beer (with a squeeze of lime) in a copper mug with ice. It was delicious, and no- body had ever seen anything like it. A SIMPLY BRILLIANT IDEA

cocktail 101

The MoscowMule

Wondering why everyone around you is ordering a Moscow Mule? We’ve got the details to put you in the know.

By Michelle P.E. Hunt & Laura Panter | photography by rob fiocca

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FOOD & DRINK SUMMER 2019