2 hours ago
5
‘When we drink alcohol, we are borrowing happiness from tomorrow” has always felt a particularly comforting quote whenever I’m on the horns of an especially awful hangover. It is also one that, until a shamefully short time ago, I attributed to Albert Einstein, because it turns out it’s apparently enough for me just to see a quote in cursive text overlaying a black-and-white photo of a famous person for me to believe it was said by them. Deeply embarrassing. I’ve also seen it recounted by James Corden, so who knows at this point? Einstein, Corden’s mate Jez … who’s to say?
Anyway, now that summer is over, most of us are left feeling that most of the year’s drinking is safely out of the way. Autumn is the hangover of the calendar year. Spring is the pre-drinks, summer the big blow-out and winter is the enormous, restorative takeaway. And when I think about hangovers, I often think of the bloody mary. It’s one of those drinks whose origins are shrouded in mystery, but the most commonly received wisdom is that it was created by Fernand Petiot in the 1920s, when he was working at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris (which, at the time, was simply called the New York Bar).
The International Bartenders Association recognises the drink as a mix of vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, celery salt and pepper, which is how stickler devotees might enjoy it. And I am one of them. If you’re making bloody mary from scratch, you’re instructed to stir all these ingredients over ice, then pour them into a tall glass filled with fresh ice. This means it’s passed through ice twice before drinking, but I like my bloody marys for their, ahem, blood-like viscosity, so I stir only very sparingly.
Bloody mary purists look away now: I’ve also been seeing a rise of interest in bloody marias, or bloody marys made with tequila, mezcal or another agave spirit. So I asked Pritesh Mody, creative director at Think Drinks, why this might be: “Good quality tequila and mezcal naturally have contrasting bright and vegetal notes that complement tomato juice,” he says. “Mezcal, in particular, touches on the zeitgeist for smoky flavours and, with the continued ‘premiumisation’ in spirits, those with provenance are eroding the vodka market, which is probably why we’re seeing this switch.”
And, if your body doesn’t mind further assault, getting back on the proverbial horse with one or three bloody marys may be as good a salve as any – though I’m not entirely sure of the science behind that one, sorry.
Four bloody mary premixes for sore heads
Bloody Drinks classic bloody mary £3.50 (250ml) Sainsbury’s, 6.3%. A single serve can of a reliably splendid bloody mary. The dash of soy sauce really makes this.
The Pickle House bloody mary mix £5.10 (750ml) Waitrose, 0%. Add your spirit of choice, or serve as is over ice for a virgin mary.
Bottle Bar Shop horseradish and wasabi bloody mary £14.92 (500ml) Master of Malt, 10%. Tabasco not spicy enough for you? Try this on for size.
Bloody Drinks classic bloody maria £26 (6 x 250ml, or £4.33 per can) Bloody Drinks, 6.1%. Not one for purists, but certainly one for mezcal-lovers, with the addition of jalepeño-infused pickle juice.
