The Bloody Mary Mystery

January 2, 2020

Who doesn't love a good Bloody Mary at brunch (or better yet a Bloody Maria AKA a Bloody Mary with tequila)? We think of it as a quintessential American cocktail. But is it really American?

The fact is, the earliest claim as to who invented the Bloody Mary comes from Fernand Petiot, a bartender working at Harry's New York bar in Paris. Petiot claims to have also invented the Sidecar and the White Lady, but apparently the Bloody Mary was a spur of the moment invention. Perhaps it was to soothe the hangover of Ernest Hemingway, a frequent patron of the bar.

The comedian George Jessel also has a claim to the drink. Jessel was performing regularly at New York's 21 club in 1939, when The New York magazine's gossip column printed: "George Jessel's newest pick-me-up which is receiving attention from the town's paragraphers is called a Bloody Mary: half tomato juice, half vodka."

Of course, that recipe is not what we know as today's Bloody Mary. Again, Petiot is the one who claims to have invented the modern recipe. He told The New Yorker:

"I cover the bottom of the shaker with four large dashes of salt, two dashes of black pepper, two dashes of cayenne pepper, and a layer of Worcestershire sauce; I then add a dash of lemon juice and some cracked ice, put in two ounces of vodka and two ounces of thick tomato juice, shake, strain, and pour." 

Of course, we have done all that work for you with our Tres Agaves Bloody Mary mix. In fact we have taken it further with our custom blend of Mexican spices. So pick up a bottle of our Bloody Mary mix, and just add your favorite vodka or Tequila.

Salud!