Everything You Need To Know About The Bloody Mary, Even Hemingway’s Recipe
Photo by Jim Sabataso
Along with the mimosa, the Bloody Mary is an iconic brunch time staple. The savory diurnal sipper is a popular hair of the dog hangover cure that’s made many a Sunday bearable since its inception.
The history of the Bloody Mary starts in 1921 Fernand Petiot, who claimed he invented the cocktail at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. Owned by legendary barman Harry MacElhone, the popular ex-pat bar is also purported to have been the birthplace of the Monkey Gland, the Sidecar, White Lady, and the French 75.
As Russians began arriving in Paris following the Revolution, they brought their vodka with them. Finding the spirit to be flavorless, Petiot began tinkering, adding tomato juice and, eventually, spices.
The Bloody Mary arrived in the United States around 1933-34 when Vincent Astor recruited Petiot for his King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel in New York. According to the official St. Regis story, “man about town” Serge Obolensky asked Petiot to recreate the vodka cocktail Petiot had been making in Paris.
As for its name, some say it was named after Queen Mary I of England (1553-58), who earned the loving nickname Bloody Mary for her vicious treatment of Protestants under her reign. Another suggests it was a couple of Chicago ex-pats who named it after Mary, a server at the Bucket of Blood bar back in their hometown. Another alleges it was a mispronunciation of an existing cocktail called the Vladimir. And yet another theory posits it was named in honor of actress Mary Pickford, which is kind of unfair since she already has her own drink.
Regardless, the name Bloody Mary was considered “too vulgar” for the King Cole patron’s delicate sensibilities, so Petiot attempted to rechristen it the Red Snapper. The name never really stuck; although the King Cole still refers to it is as such to this day.
While Petiot’s story has endured, there are other versions. One telling moves the Bloody’s birthplace around the corner form Harry’s to the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Paris. Incidentally, Ernest Hemingway the writer was said to be a fan of the cocktail. And while that can be said for just about every damn cocktail under the damn sun, Papa did like it enough to issue his own Bloody Mary recipe.
Back in New York, the 21 Club would like you to believe the Bloody originated there as a possible collaboration between bartender Henry Zbikiewicz and comedian George Jessel. In fact, a 1939 New York gossip column notes the cocktail’s connection to the bar and provides a recipe — albeit a very plain one, consisting of equal parts vodka and tomato juice. Petiot even acknowledges this version of the cocktail, but asserts he was the one who perfected it by adding spices, lemon and Worcestershire sauce.
