HAPPY BLOODY MARY DAY!!! Quick history lesson: 76 years ago, French bartender Fernand Petiot invented the deliciously simple drink (originally called the Red Snapper) with vodka, tomato juice, and a hint of Tabasco sauce. Years later, he packed up his life and his drink recipes and moved to NYC, landing a job at the St. Regis hotel. The Red Snapper was then renamed Bloody Mary, in honor of actress Mary Pickford.
Since then, countless variations on the recipe have been invented and sold at bars around the world. I’ve sampled hundreds of them throughout the years, but I wanted to get in on the action and create my own version that satisfies me 100%. It was a long, arduous, drunken process – but I couldn’t be happier with the result.
First, a bit about the process – I wanted to be a slave to my tastebuds and not be limited in any way. So, I bought every single ingredient I could think of to experiment with. There was only one requirement…it had to be vodka-based. Here’s what I had to work with (don’t worry, you won’t be using all these ingredients):
-Tomato juice
-Bloody Mary mix
-Horseradish
-Worcestershire sauce
-Hot sauce
-General Tso’s sauce
-Bleu cheese stuffed olives
-White truffle extra virgin olive oil
-Baby corn
-Sweet grape tomatoes
-Dried chipotle peppers
-Seranno peppers (finger peppers)
-Pepperoncini
-Baby dill pickles (cornichons)
-Capers
-Fresh dill
-Lemon
-Lime
-Fresh garlic
-Garlic powder
-Cumin powder
-Crumbled gorgonzola cheese
-Artichoke lemon pesto spread
-Peppercorns
-Beef jerky sticks (classy, I know)
After countless hours of mixing, matching, and majorly drinking: the BLOODY DEMON:
1. FILL half the glass with tomato juice
2. POUR 2 (or 3) shots of Vodka (I’m still into Svedka these days)
3. FILL the rest of the glass with sparkling water (this helps dilute the tomato juice, and it also adds a nice effervescent kick to the mix)
4. ADD a heaping tablespoon of horse radish (awww, yeah!)
5. ADD a tablespoon of hot sauce
6. ADD a heaping teaspoon of garlic powder
7. CUT a finger pepper into inch-long pieces, MUDDLE (to release the spiciness), & ADD
8. SQUEEZE half a fresh lime into the glass
9. GRIND some fresh peppercorns and ADD
10. ADD a hint of white truffle extra virgin olive oil (literally, you only want to add 3 drops, otherwise it will overpower the rest of the drink. It’s amazing, and a key ingredient, but don’t go overboard. Trust me.)
11. STIR vigorously
12. GRIND some more fresh peppercorns and ADD
13. GARNISH with a lemon slice
***You’re not done yet. Instead of just adding a boring celery stalk or sliced pepper, I like to cut off bite-size pieces of treats and stick them on my favorite bar embellishment (and I’m not afraid to say it): the Cocktail Umbrella!
14. PREPARE your Cocktail Umbrella by adding the following on the umbrella’s stick (like a shish kabob). Every bite is a new taste sensation:
- Pepperoncini
- Cornichon
- Grape tomato
- Bleu cheese stuffed olive
- Piece of beef jerky stick
- Baby corn
15. ADD the umbrella to your drink
16. RAISE YOUR GLASS and toast Fernand Petiot for inventing the original Bloody 76 years ago…
17. DRINK your BLOODY DEMON! Enjoy!
And don’t forget to try one of my other cocktail creations:
- Popsicletini
- Midnight Luxe Martini
- Summer Chiller
