Bloody Mary’s untold stories

If you’re old enough to mix drinks or to have drinks mixed for you, it’s probably been a long time since you’ve looked in the mirror and said “Bloody Mary” three times. Frightening as it may seem, this slumber party game is the only way to find out whether or not the horrible female monster—who allegedly lives on the other side of the glass—will come out and scratch out your eyes or pull you through the looking glass to enact unspeakable violence upon you.

As Halloween is the perfect time to make jest at unspeakable horrors, it’s only fitting that the Bloody Mary—with its dark red, pulpy appearance—is the perfect drink for the month of October.

Speaking of horrors, have you ever looked in the mirror after a long night of drinking? Alcohol is a spirit too, and an evening of wrestling with its powers can leave you with an aftermath (otherwise known as your face) that’s not too cute either. On such an occasion, you might find yourself muttering, “Bloody Mary” because that’s exactly what you’ll need to drown out last night’s boo boos and to catch a second wind for the rest of the weekend.  

The tonic of vodka, tomato juice, worcestershire sauce and other ingredients, both savory and pungent, is an essential hair-of-the-dog brunch staple.

But, have you ever wondered where Bloody Marys came from or why they have that horrific name?

An American actor named George Jessel claimed to have created the morning-after cocktail in Smirnoff ads during the 1950s that read, “I, George Jessel, created the Bloody Mary.”

Most sources, however, attribute the creation of the bloody mary to the Parisian bartender Ferdinand “Pete” Petiot, saying that he invented the drink while tending bar at the American expatriate hotspot in Paris called Harry’s New York Bar in 1921. Introduced to vodka the year before, Petiot had been experimenting with the Russian liquor for some time before he mixed it with tomato juice and various spices, including cayenne pepper and worcestershire sauce.

Paris was the hotbed for American expatriate alcoholism and the tall tales and stories that produced much of our country’s best early 20th century literature. It is said that Ernest Hemingway (who claimed, in a letter, to have introduced the Bloody Mary to Hong Kong) Thornton Wilder and Sinclair Lewis, among others, frequented Harry’s. So, it’s no surprise that this drink has a story of its own.

When Harry’s bartender Petiot moved to New York City in the 1930s to man the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel, the bar called the drink the red snapper. But, as it became popular in the U.S., the name Bloody Mary stuck.

The Mary for whom the drink is named is also a point of contention. Some say it was named in tribute to silver screen star Mary Pickford.  Others say it was named after Queen Mary I, who was nicknamed “Bloody Mary” for her ruthless crusade (she ordered 300 protestants burned at the stake) to establish Catholic dominance in England. Others say that it was named, quite simply, for a woman named Mary who frequented Harry’s.

Local bartender Crystal Beatty, a petite, blond cutester who mans the main bar McSorley’s on Fort Lauderdale beach, has been pouring drinks for five years. She says that everyone should try a Bloody Mary, “because they’re yummy and they’re great in the morning for hangovers. You get right back into your weekend and just keep going.”

Beatty says the key to a good Bloody Mary, “is to add worcestershire sauce, horseradish and love. I use pepper to spice them up. The best garnish for a Bloody Mary is the olive.”

“For Halloween,” Beatty says, “the Bloody Mary is too heavy. You need something that you can drink a lot of.” But the morning after, when all of the ghouls have gone to rest and something scary still greets you in the mirror, you’ll know what to do.