Bloody well done

By JeFF miller

Script for Bloody Mary ad campaign:

Coffin lid creaks open, Dracula climbs out and opens crypt door revealing a bright, sunny day He recoils but then fights his way outside Cut to bar where he’s drinking a Bloody Mary Dracula flashes a toothy smile to camera .

DRACULA

Only one thing can get me up and out on a Sunday morning. A Bloody Mary. (takes a sip) Mmm, delicious.

Many non-vampires agree with Dracula. A Bloody Mary is a fine way to start a brunch, especially when the night before was celebratory. And the beauty of the modern Bloody is that it can almost be a brunch in itself.

Consider the creation at the Boathouse down by Hendry’s Beach. In addition to the required vodka (Reyka from Iceland) and tomato juice it includes a crispy slice of bacon, a steamed shrimp, olives, a pickled green bean, a stalk of celery, celery salt on the rim, and some ingredients that bartender Scott Johnson declined to reveal. “Can’t tell you everything ’cause that’s what makes it special, right?” he said. “Took me five minutes to disassemble so I could get to the first sip,” commented the publisher of this magazine approvingly.

Wander over to the FisHouse by the harbor and you’ll find the same sort of phenomenon, with a cocktail onion tossed in for good measure. Does anybody drink more than one of these marvels? “Sure,” said bartender Michael Monteleone. “Most people drink two. The third depends on how happy they want to make their day.”

Harry’s adds a spin with, get this, salami and swiss cheese. Scarlett Begonia takes pride in its all-organic version, with heirloom tomato juice, house-infused black pepper vodka, fresh basil and cucumber. Harbor Restaurant on Stea- rns Wharf throws caution to the waves with a 22-ounce behemoth.

And that’s just a sample. In fact, it’s hard to find a restaurant in this restaurant-rich city without a Bloody that could entice Dracula to venture out into the daylight.

Which is reassuring to those who fear we’ve lost our creative edge. Quite the contrary, Fernand Petiot would be shocked. Petiot claimed to create the adult beverage in 1921 at the New

York Bar in Paris, which later became Hemingway’s hangout, Harry’s. His recipe: vodka and tomato juice. Not exactly stunning in hindsight, but a start.

As for the name, it’s linked to Mary I, queen of England and Ireland briefly in the 16th century. She only reigned for five years, but she killed enough Protestants in that time to earn the moniker Bloody Mary and a hallowed place in cocktail history.