Jim and Tracy Kirby: Creators of Lucky Devil Bloody Mary Mix

Our Community by Sheila Turner-Hilliard

Photos courtesy of Jim Kirby

Families are known for honoring traditions, and when you come from a large family, you inherently have plenty more opportunities to celebrate traditions! It’s the perfect recipe for fantastic food, festive drinks and family fun to be shared, celebrated and passed down to future generations.

Perhaps you make your grandmother’s apple cake every Thanksgiving, or you serve up your father’s famous burgers for the 4th of July. For Newtown Square resident Jim Kirby, it’s carrying on the tradition of serving up Bloody Marys like his Uncle John used to do at their family gatherings.

Uncle John was a master at making Bloody Marys,” Jim said. “He never made them the same way twice, but every single one was equally delicious.

Tasked with the tall order of filling his uncle’s highball glass, and feeling a huge sense of responsibility, Jim decided in the fall of 2016 that he needed to come up with a plan and a recipe that would make his uncle proud and have his family coming back for more.

I started out by writing down the ingredients that I was sure Uncle John used,” said Jim. “Then I started experimenting and asking my family and friends what ingredients they think make the best Bloody Mary.

After he had done his research, Jim and his family had compiled a healthy list of 19 ingredients.

I wanted it to be an even 20," Jim said proudly, "so I researched and sampled a bit more and found the perfect addition.

Lucky Devil celebrating their 7,000th bottle sold!

What you will taste is a gourmet blend of 20 ingredients perfectly mixed to provide the ultimate Bloody Mary experience. Those ingredients are the “details” and the reason behind Lucky Devil’s tagline: The Devil is in the Details.

At first, the Kirbys intended on sharing their signature Bloody Mary mix with just their family and friends on special occasions, but everyone who tasted it had other ideas.

We took one of our first batches to a party that fall, simply to share with our friends,” Jim explained. “Our friends loved it so much that they placed orders right then and there, and insisted on paying us for them.

Jim’s best advice for the perfect Bloody Mary is simply to enjoy them with family and friends. “Everything tastes better that way,” he said. Lucky Devil Bloody Mary mix does not contain alcohol so it can be mixed with your favorite vodka, tequila or gin. Creativity counts when it comes to garnishing a Bloody Mary. You can keep it simple with a single celery stalk, or add a skewer of shrimp, olives, peppers, pickles and more!

Once their secret was out, word of mouth spread so quickly that the Kirbys soon found themselves busier than ever in their kitchen. They started making fresh batches on weeknights after work and on the weekends. The process combines 10 dry and 10 wet ingredients mixed in large pots, then bottled and sealed. They use fresh ingredients including fresh horseradish, so batches are made to order each week and promptly refrigerated.

Tracy and Jim Kirby with their kids, James, Caroline and Catherine

The process of mixing, bottling, sealing, labeling and delivering Lucky Devil is a total team effort, and thankfully, Jim’s wife Tracy and their three kids have hopped onboard.

The kids will help with placing the labels on the bottles, and our oldest will make local deliveries as long as we pay for gas,” laughed Jim. “What started as selling a few bottles to some friends has turned into a few hundred bottles sold during the holiday season.

The Kirby family has been working hard as a team, and is proud to say they’ve recently sold their 7,000th bottle!

Recently, Lucky Devil introduced its loyal customers to Lucky Devil Dust, a dry rub seasoning made from the 10 dry Bloody Mary ingredients. Jim explained that he originally used the “dust” to rim the highball glass and to season the garnishes.

Spice up your favorite foods with Lucky Devil Dust seasoning

That was until one of his friends tasted it and insisted that he package it for sale. “Now our customers use Lucky Devil Dust to season their vegetables, french fries, wings, fish, ribs and whatever else they can think of,” he said. “Our kids love it on their eggs, and my nephew even puts it on his popcorn!”

By now, your mouth is probably watering and you’re wondering just how to get your hands on some Lucky Devil, right? Ordering is as simple as visiting Lucky Devil’s website: www. LDBloodyMary.com. You can also visit Hill’s Quality Seafood to pick up a jar of Lucky Devil Dust. For the latest news, recipes and seasonal specials, follow Lucky Devil Bloody Mary on Facebook and Instagram. NS