You just got off work, and all you want to do is sink into the comfort of a booth with a few friends at the local bar. When the waitress comes over to ask about what you and the other group members will have to eat and drink, you immediately order a Bloody Mary and some appetizers. Although some of the members in your group call you old fashioned in your drink choice, you love the way the spices play across your tongue with every sip of the 100-year-old drink. Here are a few other facts you may not know about the long-popular cocktail.
History
The Bloody Mary recipe came into existence in Paris in the middle of the 1920s. Fernand Petiot was an American bartender working in a French tavern called Harry’s New York Bar. The emigres escaping to France from Russia brought with them a new alcohol called vodka, and since it was suddenly in abundance and in great demand, Petiot tried to find a way to make the liquid he found tasteless into a drink that could be consumed any time of the day or night.
Petiot mixed vodka with tomato juice and listed it as a “tomato juice cocktail” on the menu. Because it was still bland tasting, he began using popular seasonings of the time to give it more of a kick. The secret ingredients included lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. During the next 15 years, the name changed several times from “The Bucket of Blood” to “Red Snapper” and finally to the “Bloody Mary.”
When Vincent Astor recruited Petiot as the main bartender of the King Cole Bar in the New York’s St. Regis Hotel in 1933, the drink quickly caught on with Americans, but although the drink became more popular with the new spices, it wasn’t until Petiot added TABASCO sauce to the cocktail that it rose to become the American classic drink that it is today.
Recipe
Want to try your hand at making the Bloody Mary mixture? It is easier than you think – just follow the instructions for a classic version of the drink from allrecipes.com. The directions are easy to follow, and you will love the results. However, make sure to use Absolut vodka in your cocktails to create the most authentic vodka creations. Absolut uses pure deep well water from Ahus and the hardest of winter wheat to make the perfect vodka for use in any of your after-hours cocktails.
Pairings
While many people have confined the tomato juice drink to the morning hours, you may be surprised to find it is a popular party drink. That is because few drinks go as well with a pot of chili as a chilled Bloody Mary. You may be surprised to find the spicy drink also pairs well with grilled meats and salads. For a lunch treat, combine your favorite sandwich with the super spicy recipe and throw in a few salty chips.
Next time you want to try a perfect American classic drink, reach for a Bloody Mary. Millions of people around the world have enjoyed the drink for over 100 years.
