Old Mr. Boston’s De Luxe Official Bartender’s Guide, 1953
GARNISH none
Every great hero needs an origin story, right? Yet if you go hunting for the Bloody Mary creator you’ll end up with limbs tucked into multiple rabbit holes. One thing is certain, though, and that is when this great drink came into the world. Around the end of Prohibition, not only did tomato juice become available, but also, crazy as it may sound, vodka became a thing. Pairing the two seems such an afterthought today, doesn’t it?
To begin our fantastic voyage for the first Bloody Mary, let’s keep it simple. This recipe celebrates the tomato juice cocktail and how vodka decided to crash the party.
— Brian Bartels
ON-DEMAND: Listen to Faith and Brian talk about this recipe, as well as other Bloody Mary recipes from the book.
Reprinted with permission from The Bloody Mary, copyright © 2017 by Brian Bartels. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Photographs copyright © 2017 by Eric Medsker
- 1-1/2 ounces vodka
- 1-1/2 ounces tomato juice
- 1 dash freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Combine all of the ingredients in an old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Stir until chilled and serve.
😉 every rabbit hole on this one actually finds it’s way back to pre prohibition at Harry’s New York bar in Paris where Fernand Petoit first made his simpler concoction of vodka, tomato juice and spice. 1934 he made his way to NY where heading up the bar at the St Regis hotel in Manhattan. However back then Vincent Astor bought the hotel and changed the name to the Red Snapper as he found Bloody Mary to be vulgar. He also, due to the limited supply of vodka in the US, switched the base to gin. (Vodka was not readily imported to the US until 1940 when the Hublin family purchased Smirnoff)
If someone served that as a Bloody Mary today there would be complaints.
You mean people would be like, “Where’s my candied bacon, and celery stick, and lettuce leaves, and olives. . .” I’ve seen some very fancy Marys that look like a meal!