The best weekend morning cocktail ever

I love a good Bloody Mary on a lazy weekend morning. Not to brag, but I actually think I make one of the best ones I've ever had. Maybe it's because I'm from Louisiana and I know how to get the spice ratio correct.

The Bloody Mary is a much more mysterious drink than getting the spices to sing. Why is it exactly called a Bloody Mary? I looked it up and had no idea it was so cryptic.

There are many debates on why the drink is called the Bloody Mary, all plausible which is the issue.

Many say that it was named after Queen Mary Tudor and her brutal reign at the throne, killing so many protestants.

Others say it was named after a waitress named Mary who worked at The Bucket of Blood saloon in Chicago.

Another story is that entertainer George Jessel’s friend, Mary Brown Warburton spilled the drink on her white dress, making her then known as Bloody Mary.

What is known is that after prohibition, the drink took the States by storm. I love good history lessons with great cocktail recipes! So on with the recipe…

Bloody Mary recipe

Ingredients

2 oz. vodka

5 oz. tomato juice (I use the small can of V8, even though it's a little larger than 5 oz.)

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

3 dashes Tabasco sauce

1 pinch black pepper

1 pinch celery salt

1 celery stalk as garnish

Here are a few of my own tips:

I usually stump my toe a bit on the Worcestershire, Tabasco, black pepper, and celery salt. My dashes are quite large. And I have a pepper mill, so I just turn it for a while in the shaker and sprinkle celery salt in the shaker as well.

Folks, I have to embarrassingly admit...I sometimes garnish, but mostly I don't. Unless you want to eat the celery, it really just gets in the way. If I'm making the drink for someone, I definitely garnish it though!

Method

1.Fill Boston shaker with ice and add all ingredients, minus garnish.

2.Give it a good shake!

3.Use your Hawthorne strainer and strain it into highball glass.

4.Top up the glass with fresh ice.

5.Garnish with a celery stick (if you so desire).

Here's to lazy Saturday mornings and the spicy, coolness of the Bloody Mary. Don't wear white while drinking them. Cheers!

Bloody Mary