Origin of the Fabulous "Bloody Mary"

From The "How Did We Miss This" File...

Posted by Big Red Cotton December 01, 2008 on Nola.com

Today is the 75th anniversary of the Bloody Mary and I've not heard a peep about New Orleans honoring this fabulous and valuable contribution to society.

This is a serious oversight on our part considering:

a) New Orleans is widely recognized as the originator of the cocktail and we've done more than the lion's share in keeping our country's alcohol industry in muscular form.

b) Our very own Avery Island, Louisiana's 'Tabasco' hot sauce is an essential ingredient in the original Bloody Mary recipe

c) The family of the drink's creator recently came out publicly about their growing resentment towards the Tabasco company for using the family name and recipe in their marketing for the past 40+ years without compensation.

Back in the 1930's, a Frenchie named Ferdinand Petiot invented the Sunday-brunch concoction by combining vodka with tomato juice, salt, lemon and Tabasco sauce. The drink eventually found its celebrity status in New York's St. Regis Hotel after Petiot was hired there as head bartender.

Recently, his granddaughter Carol Bradley has come out publicly against the Tabasco company, saying that the company has "been taking advantage" of her family's legacy by using Petiot's name on its own Bloody Mary Mix without compensation.

"The giant company of Tabasco has been using my grandfather's name on all their Tabasco jars since the 1960s...without asking or even conferring with my grandmother or anyone in the family. It's bothered me for all these years. I e-mailed them about a year or year and a half ago and got no response back... It's a matter of principle. My grandfather even said when he was alive that he wished he had a penny for every time Tabasco used his name."

Fortunately there are some out there who are showing the Petiot family the proper honor they deserve on this very momentous occasion. Georgi Vodka and Murphy's Bloody Mary Mix are flying Bradley, who's in her 60s, from Ohio to our sister city in disaster New York for Bloody Mary's 75th anniversary. A special toast was held in Times Square this morning and several Manhattan bars are giving out free Bloody Marys.

New Orleans better get its alcoholic act together - Attention must be paid!

IMO, Crescent City Brewhouse on Decatur has THE BEST Bloody Marys in the city. Spicy, in-house crafted Bloody Mary Mix, not too much/too little vodka, the rim covered in spicy Tony Chachere's, mmmmm... Delicious! Go on over, tell 'em to make you one in honor of Mary's anniversary, and pour a little out for our dead homie Petiot.

Happy Birthday Mare! Sunday mornings wouldn't be the same without you, doll.

Here is a recipe I found on eons.com that sound pretty darn good to me!

SHARKEY’S CAJUN BLOODY MARYS

Ingredients:
Clamato Juice (this is key……only use this type of juice) 1 quart (32 oz) size
Cajun/Creole Seasoning (Tony Chacherie, Zataran, Konriko)
Granulated Garlic
Celery Salt
Black Pepper
Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco or some other red hot sauce
Fresh squeezed Lime and Lemon juice
Vodka (it doesn’t have to be expensive vodka as all the seasoning will render that useless)
Jalapeño Stuffed Olives

You are going to be mixing all of these ingredients in the CJ bottle except the olives. Pour out enough juice to do this into a glass. This will be down to place where the bottle reaches its widest width.

In a small dish mix the rest of the dry ingredients. About a teaspoon of each Cajun Seasoning, Granulated Garlic, Celery Salt, and Black Pepper. You might want to use a funnel to pour this into the CJ bottle.

Next juice one lemon and one lime. Remove seeds, unless of course you like this. Pour the juice into the CJ bottle.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce into the CJ Bottle.

Now, put Tabasco into the CJ bottle to your level of desired heat. About 10 drops is a good place to start, but I personally like more.

Pour in vodka to fill the remainder of the CJ bottle. Put a little vodka in the glass with extra CJ juice.

Put top on the CJ bottle and shake vigorously. Now pour some of this mix into the glass to mix with the mixture in the glass. Pour this back a forth a few times to mix this amount in.

You now have a bottle of CJ filled with Bloody Marys and glass for you to start with. I will tell you that this is best if it is made the night or a few days before and put in the frig to let all the seasonings fully get into the mixture, but it is good from the get go.

Serve over a glass full of ice with a straw. Garnish with a couple of Jalapeño Stuffed Olives on a toothpick.

*This is really good with a beer chaser for those that are so inclined.