Put Grapefruit & Rosemary in Your Moscow Mule (Our Latest #f52grams Winner Taught Us How)

We celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Moscow Mule with Smirnoff Vodka—they invented the drink, after all!—on #f52grams with Your best Moscow Mules! Check out our favorite spin on their Original Mule below!

A big congratulations to Serena Wolf whose grapefruit and rosemary Moscow Mule was chosen as the winner of our Moscow Mules #f52grams contest (and has us wanting to put citrus and herbs in all of our cocktails). Here's a little more about her:

Tell us a bit about yourself!

Hi! I’m Serena, and I’m a chef, food blogger, author, and general creative hustler. Since graduating from Le Cordon Bleu Paris in 2011, I’ve worn a bunch of culinary hats—private chef, culinary instructor, freelance writer, recipe developer, nutritional spirit guide, etc.—but blogging has easily been my most rewarding pursuit, both personally and professionally. I started my site on a whim while in Paris with a clear vision: Help others get their act together in the kitchen. And make it fun. Five years later, my mission remains the same. I truly believe that cooking should be accessible, experimental, and most importantly, FUN. And pursuing this mission via my blog led to my latest project—my first cookbook—The Dude Diet, which was released last month!

What do you love about Moscow Mules?

I love how refreshing and well-balanced they are—not too sweet with that subtle ginger kick and citrus zing.

We loved your winning grapefruit and rosemary flavor combination! How'd you come up with it?

I was on a serious Moscow Mule kick a couple years ago, and it infiltrated all of my holiday cocktail ideas. My family always ate fresh grapefruit on Christmas morning, and I loved the idea of adding grapefruit to traditional Mules. The rosemary “swizzle stick” was actually inspired by the pine-y scent of my Christmas tree, if you can believe that.

Do you ever pair food with Moscow Mules? If so, what's your favorite pairing?

I do! I’m a firm believer in food and cocktail pairings, and I dig a Moscow Mule with spicier Asian-flavored dishes. Its ginger and citrus notes play extremely well with everything from coconut curries to stir-fry.

Where do you find your drink inspiration? Have any favorite cocktail cookbooks?

I get a lot of my cocktail inspiration from drinking my way around NYC, and I regularly sneak photos of the cocktail menus at my favorite bars and restaurants on my phone.

We celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Moscow Mule with Smirnoff Vodka on #f52grams with your best Moscow Mules! Need the essentials to make your Mule? Head here for the original recipe, and to order ingredients. Please enjoy responsibly.