When I saw Brian Bartels’ The Bloody Mary in a bookstore, I almost knocked a woman over making sure that copy was mine.
The woman huffed at me, quite unbelieving that anyone could be so rude. I apologized but no one was going to beat me to this book. I thumbed through it quickly. Would it deliver? Was it good?
The answer came on page 71 with the authentic Bloody Mary recipe from Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. I had made this last Easter and it was the best I had ever had.
Until I got to La Boite Bloody Mary from PDT in New York City. There on page 77 is the recipe that I have been searching for years. Our search actually. Suzi and I were in San Francisco, the morning after a wedding. About to leave on a car journey up the coast. We had brunch and Bloody Marys. We almost stayed another day.
Of course, I asked for the recipe. Of course, I got it. Of course, it did not work.
I have had this Bloody Mary disappointment many times. The problem is twofold: a great bartender may want to guard his secret and, I have sadly learned, when someone says “tomato juice” you must find the specific brand. Specific.
Face it, a Bloody Mary has a lot of red stuff in it and how that red stuff comes will make a total difference. Sacramento Tomato Juice is not the same as V8.
The Bloody Mary begins with history, naturally, then twenty pages on The Originals. The Bloody Mary cocktail has many parental claimants. There is no definitive “author” of the Bloody Mary but the recipes here span a range of basic ideas, like simply combining V8 juice with chile-infused vodka.
In the chapter Modern Recipes, you’ll find new twists on the core theme. Ideas like balsamic vinegar, coconut water, ginger beer, honey syrup, and on and on. Everyone seems to have an idea and The Bloody Mary demonstrates some, but not all, of the infinite diversity available to you on Sunday morning.
Oh, there is a third chapter, Hosting a Party, where the recipes are presented in scalable format. Need to supply 10 drinks? The ideas are here.
Somewhere in this book is the particular Bloody Mary that will satisfy your craving for perfection. And that recipe will yours to repeat over and over or, probably, tinker with. Another half teaspoon of horseradish? What about a different hot sauce? What would it be like with balsamic vinegar?
It’s bloody difficult. And bloody fun.