tl;dr
(Moscow mule recipe found HERE.)
I’m still making my way through the Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman, and seriously, I’ve been enjoying the ride so far! The first book, Scythe, even turned up with an accompanying Food and Fandom post, and I tried cooking rabbit for the first time!
This time, things aren’t too complicated, unless you count me visiting the closest liquor store in search of ginger beer and lime juice–which wasn’t that difficult to find, considering they were placed on the first shelf I went to…
As was his custom, he was drinking a Moscow mule. It had always been his drink of choice–a blend of vodka, ginger beer, and lime, named after the infamous city in the TransSiberian region where the last resistance riots took place.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
I think I went the drink route because the Moscow mule is just such a good drink to end the summer with. It also helps that it has vodka in it, and I actually like ginger. When I read about High Blade Xenocrates relaxing in his sauna and sipping Moscow mules like a BOSS, I totally snickered and decided I’d do a post about that.
A traditional Moscow mule–from what I saw–is served in a copper mug with crushed ice. Since I did not have copper dishware handy, I went with my favorite glass. I also just went with regular ice cubes, because why not.
The recommendation is fresh lime juice, which I might try at some point, but I got bottled lime juice for convenience’s sake. From the pictures I also saw, I noticed some garnishing their drinks with mint, though I opted for the simple version (also because I know mint is great and all, but I’ve over-minted myself in June when I went to Morocco. So mint and I are taking a break for now…).
It was a symbolic drink for the High Blade. A meaningful one–both sweet and bitter, and substantially intoxicating in sufficient quantity. It always made him think of that glorious day when the riots were subdued and the world finally settled into its current peaceful state.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
The recipe (which I’ve posted at the top and will post again at the bottom) I got has measurements, but honestly, cocktails are fun to do because you can always play around with the measurements. If you want more vodka than your 1-2 ounces, then who am I to stop you, amiright?
Me, I pretty much just threw in two shot glasses’ worth and hoped for the best.
(It turned out well!)
And it was such a great day that I had to take my Moscow mule out and continue reading outside!
Verdict: It was a really refreshing drink to have at the end of summer. I may have added too much lime juice the first time around, but that was quickly fixed the second time around. I’m also contemplating getting copper mugs for the entire experience, especially if I want to repeat this really easy concoction!
Story and Somnomancy 