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THE BLOODY MARY
TURNS 100
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he Bloody Mary, according to the new “Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails,” is one of the drinks that in the mid-nineteenth century turned vodka from an eastern European spirit into a global one. While there is some debate on when and where the Bloody Mary was first invented, most point to a bartender named Fernand Petiot at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris who is said to have created this now iconic drink 100 years ago. But it was an American entrepreneur who would create the taste so many Bloody Mary drinkers enjoy today. Chicago businessman Richard Krohn loved Bloody Marys, so much in fact that he crafted his own signature Bloody Mary mix recipe, which his wife soon started calling “Zing Zang” because, she said, the mix combined the perfect amount of “zing”
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BARTENDER® Magazine
SPRING 2022
and “zang.” Made from a blend of seven real vegetable juices and bold seasonings, Krohn’s mix became so popular with his friends and family, he decided to bottle and sell it. From those early days, driving around Chicago in the late 1990s introducing Zing Zang to bars and restaurants, the words “Zing Zang” soon became synonymous with the Bloody Mary, and it wasn’t long before Zing Zang topped the list as the #1-selling Bloody Mary mix in the U.S. Though vodka still reigns as the favorite spirit base for a Bloody Mary, of course it’s not the only way to prepare this cocktail. For a completely different taste experience, try tequila instead (a Bloody Maria), or gin (Gin Mary, or sometimes called a Red Snapper), or bourbon, or rye, or mezcal, or aquavit, or even a nice smokey Scotch. Throw a shot of beef broth in BARTENDER.COM | MIXOLOGIST.COM
E K AT E R I N A M O LC H A N OVA /iSTO C K
The Secret to a Great Bloody Mary? Start with a Great Mixer.
