# Don't nurse that Mule - chug it down! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** liquor-alcohol\ **Created:** [February 11, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319 "2022-02-11T15:02:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/1 "2022-02-11T15:02:15Z")
A study shows that ginger beer dissolves enough of the copper from a Moscow Mule mug to raise the toxicity level above the safety standard. But if you chug it, you’re good! [https://nordot.app/864813149791125504?c=592622757532812385](https://nordot.app/864813149791125504?c=592622757532812385) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/2 "2022-02-11T15:04:44Z")
Sad news, I don’t like to chug a $12 drink. I more reason to stick to beer. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/3 "2022-02-11T15:09:04Z")
Who could’ve known that drinking out of a toxic metal mug might be dangerous? I’ll have to consider retiring my plutonium flagon. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/4 "2022-02-11T15:11:11Z")
> [@](#): > > A drink or two is not toxic, said one of the study’s authors, Carroll College associate chemistry professor [Caroline Pharr](https://www.carroll.edu/faculty/dr-caroline-pharr). “Acute copper toxicity is very unlikely,” she said. “For that, you would need to drink 30 Moscow mules in a 24-hour period.” Still, I anticipate that the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe is preparing TV ads that say “POISONED BY MOSCOW MULES? You could be entitled to COMPENSATION! Call this toll-free number!” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/5 "2022-02-11T15:12:28Z")
My immediate response to the disclaimer was “Challenge Accepted.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/6 "2022-02-11T15:32:28Z")
I prefer my Dark & Stormy in a glass tumbler, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/7 "2022-02-11T15:51:28Z")
I had a copper mug I kept by my Polar Water dispenser. A friend noticed it and asked if I was concerned about copper toxicity. I stopped using it. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/8 "2022-02-11T15:55:20Z")
All the water pipes in my house are copper. Should I be worried? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/9 "2022-02-11T15:55:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Still, I anticipate that the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe is preparing TV ads that say “POISONED BY MOSCOW MULES? You could be entitled to COMPENSATION! Call this toll-free number!” In the UK those sorts of cases are traditionally handled by the firm of [Sue, Grabbit and Runne](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sue,_Grabbit_and_Runne). j ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/10 "2022-02-11T15:56:04Z")
Unless they dispense ginger beer, I wouldn’t worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/11 "2022-02-11T15:56:58Z")
Depends on the acidity of your water. For some people with acidic well water, it can be a mild concern as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/12 "2022-02-11T15:57:21Z")
So I guess lead is out of the question? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/13 "2022-02-11T16:00:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A study shows that ginger beer dissolves enough of the copper from a Moscow Mule mug to raise the toxicity level above the safety standard. Sounds like a variation of Russian roulette. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/14 "2022-02-11T16:00:46Z")
I was under the impression that this particular issue was a class action, brought forward by **[Kayser, Fleischer](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459187/)**, and Associates, LLC. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/15 "2022-02-11T16:20:45Z")
Now we will have to test this with various mules to see which leeches the most copper. Vodka, rum or whiskey? Is there a gin or tequila mule? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/16 "2022-02-11T16:23:27Z")
I remember several years back when Moscow Mules made their big resurgence, so many people were stealing the mugs that bars would hold on to your i.d. if you ordered one. Lots of poisoned, purloined mugs out there. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/17 "2022-02-11T16:30:57Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Is there a gin or tequila mule? Those would be a London mule and a Mexican mule, respectfully. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/18 "2022-02-11T16:42:13Z")
Just checked my mule mugs. They are stainless steel with copper plating on the outside. I was given a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Rye the other day, looks like a JD mule tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/19 "2022-02-11T16:46:21Z")
Once I am off the painkillers I’ll have to try a mule with some of the Plymouth gin I have. I also have absinthe, but I am not THAT adventurous. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319/20 "2022-02-11T17:35:00Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > So I guess lead is out of the question? My previous residence had (has, I’m sure) a lead service water pipe. Not that uncommon still in Chicago. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-nurse-that-mule-chug-it-down/959319.md?page=2)