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BLOODY MARY 100TH ANNIVERSARY
THE BLOODY MARY TURNS 100
The Secret to a Great Bloody Mary? Start with a Great Mixer.
The 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” 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
there and you have yourself a Bloody Bull.
Thanks to mixes like Zing Zang, Mr. & Mrs. T’s, Major Peters, Dimitri’s, Daily’s, and many others, it’s become increasingly easy for people to mix a Bloody Mary at home. And while most of the best Bloody Mary’s are found in restaurants and bars, many of those recipes – some consumers might be surprised to learn – also use a mixer as the base.
“Certain drinks I like to make from scratch, but for a Bloody Mary it’s a lot easier, faster, and a lot more consistent to start with a mix,” says Lauren Larscheid, a bartender at Double Bogeys in Lutz, FL, and self-described “huge” Bloody Mary fan. “We use Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix because it’s very versatile, it allows us to easily add our own twist – like pickle juice for example – to create a flavor all our own for our Bloody’s.”
Sean Calip, the General Manager of the Lodge Group in Chicago, agrees. “Efficiency is important, especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings,” he says.
The Lodge Group operates eight high-profile bars and restaurants in Chicago, including The Lodge, an institution in that city since 1957, and uses Zing Zang as the base for most of their Bloody Mary’s. “I’ve experimented making my own Bloody Mary mix, but I have yet to find one better than Zing Zang,” Calip says.
Recently in Birmingham, AL, bartender Ryan O’Connor created his own signature “Irish Mary” for St. Patrick’s Day, combining Tullamore Dew, Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix, pub sauce, Colman’s mustard, curry powder, malt vinegar, Scrappy’s Firewater bitters, and a Guinness float.
There are still some holdouts though when it comes to using a mixer for Bloody Mary’s. David Horowitz, a longtime bartender in Santa Monica, CA, says historically he hasn’t used a Bloody Mary mix, but he’s been considering re-thinking that. “Honestly, for Bloody Mary’s, I think it really does help to start with a really good mix.”
