‘Bloody Mary’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

It’s time for Friday Happy Hour, highlighting a drink we’ve recently enjoyed, every Friday at 4pm! Please share your favorites as well.

Wait, a Bloody Mary on a Friday? They’re just for brunch, right? Ok, perhaps you won’t be having one this evening, but I happen to harbor a soft spot for the most ubiquitous of hangover helpers. I especially love its history, around since the 1920’s in Paris or 1930’s in New York, depending on the tale – its exact origins are somewhat disputed. Vaudevillian George Jessel claimed to be the first to mix vodka and tomato juice as a morning cure-all, while famous bartender Fernand Petiot added the spice element now considered essential. Petiot worked at Harry’s Bar, frequented by another master of the cocktail, Hemingway. This gives what we usually consider a humble drink a very sexy past.

I’m partial to my Bloody Mary with a Bull Shot, that is, adding beef broth which gives it a lot more depth. This is probably due to my hating tomato juice with a passion as a child. It was only as an adult that I grew to tolerate it, spurred by a friend who swore by tomato juices’s healthy and healing qualities. Slowly I saw the light. Continue reading →