Bloody Mary
The savoury cocktail that works as a drink rather than a dare — if you season it like food and skip the garnish circus.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Add the vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire, hot sauce, celery salt and pepper to a shaker.
Fill with ice and roll the drink — pour it back and forth between shaker tins four or five times.
Strain into an ice-filled highball glass.
Garnish with a celery stick and a lemon wedge.
A thoughtful finish
- Roll it, do not shake it. Hard shaking aerates tomato juice into a pale pink froth and ruins the texture.
- Season it the way you would season a soup — taste before you strain, and expect to want more salt and more acid than you think.
- Build a big batch of the seasoned tomato mix without the vodka. It keeps three days in the fridge and improves overnight.
Common mistakes
- Shaking hard, which turns it foamy and thin.
- Under-seasoning. Tomato juice straight from the tin is flat and sweet; salt, acid and heat are what make this a cocktail.
- Loading the glass with so much garnish that the drink is unapproachable. A stick of celery and a lemon wedge is the whole tradition.
A few good questions.
What is a Red Snapper?
The same drink made with gin instead of vodka — and the name the St. Regis used for the Bloody Mary itself. Gin's botanicals work genuinely well against tomato; it is worth trying.
Why roll instead of shake?
Rolling chills and combines without whipping air into the juice. A shaken Bloody Mary loses its body and its colour.
Can I use fresh tomatoes?
Yes, and it is excellent — blend and strain ripe tomatoes for a lighter, sweeter drink. You will need to season more aggressively because fresh juice is less concentrated than tinned.
What is the best vodka for it?
Something clean and mid-priced; this is not a drink where an expensive bottle shows. A rye-based vodka or an aquavit adds a peppery note that suits it.
Variations
- Red Snapper — Gin in place of vodka.
- Bloody Maria — Blanco tequila in place of vodka.
- Michelada — Beer-based, with lime and the same savoury seasoning.
- Virgin Mary — The same drink with no spirit.
Where it comes from
c. 1921-1934 · Paris, then New York · Fernand Petiot · Harry's New York Bar
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
Fernand Petiot claimed to have mixed vodka and tomato juice at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in the early 1920s, and later to have added the lemon, Worcestershire, pepper and cayenne that make it a finished drink after he moved to the St. Regis in New York in the 1930s. The comedian George Jessel also claimed the invention, and Petiot’s own account credits Jessel with the plain vodka-and-tomato version while claiming the seasoning as his. The name is unresolved — Mary Tudor, a Chicago bar called the Bucket of Blood, and a waitress named Mary have all been proposed. At the St. Regis the drink was served as the Red Snapper because management thought Bloody Mary too coarse for the room.
Sources
- Fernand Petiot, interview in The New Yorker, 1964 (periodical)
- St. Regis New York, King Cole Bar house history, current (venue)
- IBA Official Cocktails list, current (standards body)
Strength. About 1 US standard drinks at an estimated 10.3% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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