We’re not here to suck what joy remains of your soon-to-be-ended-by-North-Korea lives by telling you that all of the things you enjoy are slowly killing you. (We do try to give you good news whenever possible, like this.) However, it’s recently come to our attention—thanks so much, Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division—that the Instagram-friendly copper mugs from which we sip our Moscow Mules are potentially dangerous to our health. The bulletin basically reiterates the FDA’s stance on the mixing of copper and acidic drinks, which is, to put it in pedestrian terms, bad. This is because the acidity of the drink can cause copper to leach from the container into the liquid it contains, thereby poisoning whomever is imbibing.
Now, before you freak out and try do the impossible by counting the number of copper-cup drinks you’ve had over the course of the last few trendy-cocktail-infused years of your life, take heart in the knowledge that these findings are not new, and therefore aren’t news to the majority of those who make copper mugs and/or serve drinks from them. The Moscow Mules you order are most likely delivered to your table in cups lined with other metals, such as nickel or stainless steel, which will protect the copper from adding itself into your cocktail uninvited. And even if you do accidentally sip from unlined copper, you’re not going to die, says this guy, which is great news for those of us planning to drink them regardless, because how else are we to deal with the light-and-friendly banter happening between Trump and Kim Jong Un if not via happy hour?
