The Hirshon Bloody Mary

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Bloody Mary Image Used Under Creative Commons License From cocktails.wikia.com

A Bloody Mary is an extraordinarily popular cocktail usually containing vodka, tomato juice, and combinations of other spices and strong flavorings that include Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, beef consommé, horseradish, celery, olives, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and celery salt. It has been called “the world’s most complex cocktail” and is certainly one of my favorite drink recipes.

Sadly, most Bloody Marys today are made from a hideously salty pre-made mix with less-than-fresh tomato juice to create a travesty of the orthodox recipe that demands immediate and radical steps to correct!

Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented the Bloody Mary in 1921, while working at the New York Bar in Paris – which later became Harry’s New York Bar – a frequent Paris hangout for Ernest Hemingway and other American expatriates. Supposedly, the original name was “The Red Snapper” and it was made with gin, not vodka. Over time, it evolved into today’s vodka-based Bloody Mary and a wide range of alternatives. For example, a great low-alcohol version of the Bloody Mary uses Sake instead of vodka – a variant I heartily endorse when required.

Here is my own Bloody Mary recipe – so precious it used to be in the safety deposit box, protected by mystic charms and spirits from beyond the grave (yes, it’s that good). This is a classic recipe that is most satisfying, whether as a “hair-of-the-dog” morning-after hangover cure or just on its own. My recipe is far more complex than most Bloody Marys, and I make no apologies for that – it’s what makes it my own and especially delicious. It also incorporates a tiny bit of beef demiglace to make it closer to the “Bloody Bull” – a variant recipe that was renowned for its healing properties (and also tastes great!).

Renowned as a “morning-after” drink or as a complement to Sunday brunch, a good Bloody Mary truly satisfies – and a great one allows the heavens to part, revealing choirs of angels singing hosannahs amidst the unbridled canopy of the Empyrean. My version incorporates exactly that revolutionary greatness to bring the cocktail into its true pedigree and status of legend! Fresh tomato/vegetable juice, fresh herbs and spices and more than a bit of mixology magic are the hallmarks of my recipe – and those secrets are now yours!

Enjoy this classic cocktail and my specific enhancements to it, my Citizens – and feel free to add or subtract ingredients to meet your specific taste. 🙂

Battle on – The Generalissimo

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The Hirshon Bloody Mary (serves 1)

2 ounces Pomi Strained Tomatoes

Or

2 ounces Hirshon Tomato Juice (preferred) made from:

½ can Eden Organic Whole Tomatoes, drain and reserve the liquid
or Eden Organic Whole Tomatoes w/Basil
½ can Eden Organic Diced Tomatoes w/Green Chilies, drain and reserve liquid
1 ¼ cups drained and reserved tomato liquids (combine both)
2 cups unsalted organic tomato juice
½ tsp fleur de sel sea salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
¼ cup celery leaves

Blend all – let stand at least 1 hour or overnight

Blend these in a blender with 2 ounces of tomato juice above:

A-1 steak sauce (½ tsp)
Taste #5 Umami paste (½ tsp) – buy it here
¼ teaspoon beef demiglace
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce (1 tsp)
Olive liquid from a jar of olives (1 tbsp)
Kochujang chili paste (1 tsp)
1 small clove garlic
½ teaspoon Beaver hot horseradish
¼ teaspoon Celery seeds crushed or powder (not salt)

Strain above and add to:

Grey Goose Vodka or Sake (for morning-after version) that has had one head of roasted garlic steeping in it for 24 hours. (2 oz)
Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Fresh squeezed lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Use a large 16-20 oz glass. Wet the rim with a piece of fresh lime. Then dip the glass rim into some Old Bay Seasoning. Add ice about half way up. Pour all into glass. Squeeze fresh lemon and lime on top and add a halved lengthwise leafy celery stalk.