With the start of the new year, what better way to kick off our calendar than with a drink sure to keep your New Year’s resolutions in check. Bloody Mary’s have many healthy benefits, compared to sweet cocktails. They are comparatively low-cal, full of Vitamin C from the tomato juice, and the celery stalk has both fiber and a great crunch that helps keep the desire to snack at bay.
The Legend of the Bloody Mary
Legend has it that the Bloody Mary was created by Fernand “Pete” Petiot while he was working as a bartender at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris during the 20s. Purely by luck Petiot combined tomato juice and vodka and a colleague named it. According to the McIhenny Company, makers of Tabasco sauce, Petiot said that “one of the boys suggested we call the drink ‘Bloody Mary’ because it reminded him or the Bucket of Blood Club in Chicago, and a girl there named Mary.”
In 1934 Petiot took a job at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City and in the 1940s he introduced the Bloody Mary there. The hotel tried unsuccessfully to change the name of the drink to the Red Snapper, but eventually it was recalled. New Yorkers found the cocktail a bit bland and encouraged Petiot to add some seasoning. He chose to add black pepper, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, and Tabasco sauce. When the drink swept the country in the 50s, Petiot claimed he had invented it while working at Harry’s New York Bar in the 20s.
Fernand “Pete” Petiot’s Bloody Mary:
2 oz vodka
2 oz tomato juice
¼ oz fresh lemon juice
2 to 4 dashes salt
2 dashes fresh black pepper
2 dashes cayenne pepper
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Shake with ice and strain into a short glass.
An updated Bloody Mary Recipe:
⅔ cup top-quality tomato juice
2 to 3 oz vodka
1 tsp horseradish
6 shakes Tabasco Sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Juice of ½ lime (or lemon)
⅛ tsp salt
⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Celery Stalk for garnish
Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Pour over ice in a tall glass and garnish with the celery stalk.