Don’t shake it! Thomas from Ella’s on 2nd is emphatic: “Do not shake a Bloody Mary! The best technique for making a Bloody Mary is the slow roll,” she says. “Build all the ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice, then slowly roll into another mixing glass and then slowly roll back into the original container.
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“The Bloody Mary is open to almost any interpretation.”
I hesitate to even broach the topic of the Bloody Mary. For one thing, its one of those ubiquitous drinks that absolutely everyone has their own way of preparing. So why even bring it up? Because everyone has their own way of preparing it, and Im curious how you do it.
The Bloody Mary is, of course, a staple of the American brunch and a universal hangover cure. The drinks origins are oft-rumored and still open to the kind of disputed bickering that is absolutely painful on a weekend morning, so its best to move onto the heart of the matter: whats essential in your Bloody Mary?
Me, Im a spicy kind of guy (as long as its not over the top): a little Tabasco, a little horseradish, and for extra complexity in what can otherwise be a top-heavy drink, I prefer to use gin.
But really, the Bloody Mary is open to almost any interpretation and is one of the few drinks that doesnt follow rigid rules and ideological sniping.
(And while I hesitate to introduce any rules regarding this drink, there is one that you should keep in mind: do not order a Bloody Mary during the evening. Why? Because like unkempt hair and caffeine-deprived mumbling, a Bloody Mary is something thats normal and forgivable during the early hours of the day, but by the evening its time to get out of your bathrobe and show some signs of life.)
I fix maybe two Bloody Marys a year, and every time I do I wonder why I dont do it more. Its feeling like one of those weekends coming on. Heres my recipe—whats yours?
- 2 ounces vodka (or really, try gin, or even a blanco tequila)
- 1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
- Dashes of salt and black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon horseradish
- 2 dashes Tabasco sauce
- 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 4 ounces tomato juice
- Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Gently roll from one glass to another until chilled (if you shake a Bloody Mary, the tomato juice will foam, and if you simply build it over ice in a glass, the ice will melt faster and the drink will become insipid before you have a chance to finish it). Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a slice of lemon or lime or—who am I kidding?—pretty much anything short of the Hoover Dam.
As its how most will make theirs, weve instructed to stir it in the recipe above. However, the way to improve a Bloody Mary is to shake it rather than stir. Yes, it can be built in a glass and stirred with your finger and yes, it is is easier that way when you are feeling spectacularly lazy on a Sunday morning. Put that aside however and youll find that the amount of cold and dilution you get by adding the ingredients into a tin and shaking it makes for a much more approachable, enjoyable drink. The tomato is less viscous and the drink feels lighter.
If you are hanging in there and you are making one as a way of reviving your weary and hungover soul – the same applies. Shaking might cause temporary grievance to your ears, but it’ll sooth you in many other ways. Cold hands, increased heartbeat – you’ll be back to life in no time…
If you combine this with advertisements for Frenchs Worcestershire Sauce that ran in that era, suggesting that it be added to a “Tomato Juice Cocktail” along with tomato juice, salt, and pepper – you can see how the confluence of factors all came together and incrementally evolved the drink into what we know today.
It’s likely that New Yorks 21 Club formed a central part in the early days of the drink. The club has two claims associated with it, but the one with the most credibility attributes its invention to the comedian George Jessel, a frequent guest at the club. The connection was immortalised in print in 1939 (one of the earliest U.S. references to this drink), with the quip “George Jessels newest pick-me-up which is receiving attention from the towns paragraphers is called a Bloody Mary: half tomato juice, half vodka.”
He said “I initiated the Bloody Mary of today. Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over.” At the time, the cocktail was named as a new cocktail under the name “Red Hammer” in Life magazine in 1942, consisting of tomato juice, vodka, and lemon juice.
4 Levels of Bloody Mary: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious
FAQ
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