The Bloody Mary: Bloody Wonderful!!

Despite its gruesome name, the Bloody Mary remains one of the foundations of Cocktail Hour, everywhere. A prototype of the Bloody Mary was created by bartender Fernand "Pete" Petiot, at Harry's Bar in Paris, around 1921. Originally dubbed a "Bucket of Blood" by one of the bar's patrons, it later became the Bloody Mary (Vintage Cocktails. Susan Waggoner and Robert Markel. (c) 1999.)

Vodka was rarely mentioned in American bartenders' guides written before World War II, because gin was, by far, the easiest spirits to fabricate in the US. But the vodka tradition was brought to Western Europe by Russians exiled by the revolution in 1917, several years before the creation of the original Bucket of Blood (and the Bloody Mary).

After Prohibition, the Bloody Mary's creator came to the US, and later joined the King Cole Bar at New York's St. Regis Hotel. Jacob Astor (the owner of the St. Regis) loved Petiot's creation, but he didn't like the name and asked that Petiot call it a "Red Snapper" (The Bloody Mary. Christopher B. O'Hara. (c) 1999.) and make it with gin. So the Red Snapper became the Bloody standard here in the US, because vodka didn't arrive here, until the 1930's, when Smirnoff began to dominate the US spirits market, and the Bloody Mary once again became a vodka cocktail (see Vintage Cocktails), while the Red Snapper remained true to its genealogy and was still made with gin. The Red Snapper is my "Bloody" of choice.

If you enjoy a good Bloody Mary, you're in good company. Ernest Hemingway - a spokesperson for the "lost generation" of American expatriates in Paris, after WWI also was a devotee of the Bloody! Hemingway felt that Bloodies should be made by the pitcherful, because "any smaller amount is worthless."

Here's how to make a foolproof Bloody Mary:

3 oz Tomato juice

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Jigger vodka

1-2 Dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Black pepper, to taste

Add the tomato and lemon juice over ice, in a highball glass. Add vodka and pepper and stir. The original Bloody Mary was served with a swizzle stick, not the stalk of celery that became the standard in the 1960's, and note that the original Bloody uses black pepper, rather than the Tabasco or cayenne we have gotten used to. Feel free to add some celery salt, if desired.

To make a Red Snapper, just substitute gin, for the vodka.

Other Variations:

Bloody Caesar: Use half tomato juice and half clam juice, instead of all tomato.

Bloody Bull: Add 2 oz low sodium beef broth.

Bloody Swedish Blonde: Use Akavit, instead of vodka.

Virgin Mary: Leave out the alcohol.

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I always - repeat ALWAYS - make my Bloodies from scratch. There is absolutely NO Bloody Mary mix that is not oversalted and overspiced. To make great cocktails, keep it simple, and keep it original. And for Pete (Petiot's) sake, PLEASE make them fresh!

Bloody Wonderful, isn't it?

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Cinema recommendation:

My choice would be Islands in the Stream (1977), the film made from Hemingway's posthumously published novel and starring George C. Scott and Claire Bloom. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.