Bloody Mary

Gruesome and delish: how the brunch standard came to be

By Hanky Panky + Pink Lady

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For many, a good Bloody Mary is a key component of the quintessential, leisurely brunch. But how did this eerily named spicy, salty cocktail come to be?

The Bloody Mary was created by Fernand "Pete" Petiot at Harry's American Bar in Paris in 1921. It was unique because it married two new things: vodka, which had recently been introduced to France by refugees from communist Russia, and canned tomato juice, which arrived in Paris from the US after World War I.

As one legend has it, the name refers to a woman who was frequently left to sip Petiot's cocktails in solitude while waiting for her gentleman friend at Harry's Bar. It compared her long, lonely hours waiting for her beloved to the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots.

In 1933, the Astor family coaxed Petiot to move to New York to head up the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel, where the drink evolved. Vodka was not available stateside, so the New York version featured gin. Also, the St. Regis' swanky management was put off by the gruesome name, and redubbed it the Red Snapper before adding it to their repertoire.

In the 1950s, the cunning marketers at Smirnoff quickly brought the Bloody Mary back to its roots. The drink became a cornerstone of their legendary campaign to introduce vodka to the American marketplace.

The original Bloody Mary recipe (below) was quite simple. The drink lends itself to variation, such as the common inclusion of celery salt, horseradish and who knows what else. Here's to innovation!

Cin-cin!

BLOODY MARY

1.5 oz vodka

2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

4 dashes Tabasco sauce

pinch of salt and pepper

0.25 oz fresh lemon juice

4 oz tomato juice

Build in a mixing glass. Roll back and forth in a tin. Strain into an ice-filled glass.

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