Bloody Mary (cocktail) - History

History

The Bloody Mary's origin is unclear. Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented the drink 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. Two other claims have some plausibility. The first is that it was invented in the 1930s at New York’s 21 Club by a bartender named Henry Zbikiewicz, who was charged with mixing Bloody Marys. A second claim attributes its invention to the comedian George Jessel, who frequented the 21 Club. In 1939, Lucius Beebe printed in his gossip column This New York one of the earliest U.S. references to this drink, along with the original recipe: "George Jessel’s newest pick-me-up which is receiving attention from the town’s paragraphers is called a Bloody Mary: half tomato juice, half vodka."

Fernand Petiot seemed to corroborate Jessel's claim when the bartender spoke to The New Yorker magazine in July 1964, saying:

"I initiated the Bloody Mary of today," he told us. "Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over. I cover the bottom of the shaker with four large dashes of salt, two dashes of black pepper, two dashes of cayenne pepper, and a layer of Worcestershire sauce; I then add a dash of lemon juice and some cracked ice, put in two ounces of vodka and two ounces of thick tomato juice, shake, strain, and pour. We serve a hundred to a hundred and fifty Bloody Marys a day here in the King Cole Room and in the other restaurants and the banquet rooms."

Cocktail Historian David Herpin claims the Bloody Mary originated on the west coast and was called a Red Hammer, containing vodka, tomato juice, and lemon juice in 1942.