"This could be the best Bloody Mary, but do you know the history behind the hangover cure?"

I recently entered my own personal spin on this classic hangover cure for Absolut Vodka and The Food Networks search for the best Bloody Mary in America.  I actually started formulating this recipe several months ago in anticipation of opening my own restaurant.  I wanted the best Mary around.  I knew my mix was right on, but what to garnish it with?  I had seen everything from a hot dog, to a burger, to a lobster tail...the combinations were endless.  Balance and presentation also had to make sense for my ultimate Mary.  As with all my classics I needed to know exactly where this drink came from and I wanted to make sure that I do it justice.

The Bloody Mary is said to have been given birth with the first tins of tomato juice from the United States in Paris right after World War I.  A barman at the Ritz Bar, Frank Meier, was mixing a Tomato Juice concoction without any booze.  Meanwhile, Ferdinand "Pete" Petiot bartender for Harry's American Bar in Paris, began mixing his "Bloody Mary" with vodka.  As the story goes, Pete would mix this drink for a woman that was regularly left waiting for her man at the bar, her name, Mary.  A comparison was made between the imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots and young Mary's long, solitary hours at the bar.

With the dark days of Prohibition entering the United States, this drink didn't have a chance to migrate.  Vodka was a relatively unknown liquor during prohibition.  Then in the 1960's, John Martin, grandson of Heublein founder Andrew Martin, used the Mary as a vehicle to promote a new product, Smirnoff.  This led to an almost exclusive use of vodka in the drink, and helped to make it the "hangover cure all".

The classic Mary is a combination of several ingredients:  tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, celery seed, salt, pepper, Tabasco, and lemon juice.  The garnish is left to interpretation and imagination.  That being said...here is my hopefully award winning recipe...

Barragan's Surf and Turf Mary

(makes 2 spicy Bloody Mary's..nobody wants to drink alone)
16 oz Tomato Juice (if you use Clamato Juice you are actually making a Bloody Caesar)
1/2 oz Sweet and Sour (1/4 part Lemon Juice, 1/4 part Simple Syrup, 1/2 part Lime Juice)
1/2 oz Horseradish
1/2 oz A1
1/2 oz Tapatio
1/4 oz Tabasco
1/4 oz Worcestershire
1/4 oz Salt
1/4 oz Black Pepper
1/4 oz Celery Seed
1/4 oz Dale DeGroff's Pimento Bitters

Combine ingredients and stir well.  Salt the rim of the serving glasses and add 2 oz of Vodka per drink (if you use Tequila it is Bloody Maria, Gin it becomes a Red Snapper).  Garnish to your hearts content.

For my Surf and Turf portion I used a special 15 spice blend to season and tie it all together.  I used the spice blend with sugar to season the bacon, dusted the two mozzarella cubes on a skewer and then added salt with the spice for the rim of the glass.  I chose a leafy Celery Stalk for classic nostalgia, crisp bacon (what sounds better than bacon with a hangover), a red grape and sunburst tomato for color, mozzarella for creamy goodness and finally a jumbo shrimp to complete our surf portion.

If you think this Bloody Mary is worthy of competing on "Chopped" as the best in the nation, please click the link below, go to Vote Now, California and then choose Barragan's Surf and Turf Mary!

Thank you and Cheers!

http://nycwffbestbloody.org/