Thursday, October 25, 2007

Rickey Salutes the Bloody Mary

As a rule, Rickey enjoys consuming spicy things. And in case you hadn’t noticed, Rickey also enjoys alcohol. So it comes as no surprise that if a wondrous adult beverage existed that combined spiciness and alcohol content, Rickey would be all over it like a donkey on a waffle. And indeed, such a magical drink does indeed exist: the Bloody Mary. And for those of you who have never taken the time to make one your own, trust us, they’re completely delicious.

Sadly, only two other people in Rickey’s life profess to enjoy Bloody Marys: Ms. Henderson’s grandmother, and a college buddy of Rickey’s from Texas who prefaces all public conversations with the word “gentlemen…” So clearly this Bloody Mary thing isn’t a widespread phenomenon just yet. That’s where you, the reader come in. Rickey’s taking time out from his busy schedule to educate you on this fantastic yet woefully unappreciated drink, so listen well.

First, let’s discuss consumption locales. The peculiar thing about drinking a Bloody Mary is that there is most certainly a time and place for it. Over the years, Rickey has set out to determine exactly what those precise times and places are. We’ve come up with the following list:

1. While tailgating (highly unorthodox, we know)
2. On an airplane or in an airport
3. At a horse race
4. At a cockfight
5. While bowling
6. And, finally, on boats. Always on boats.

In other words, don’t go into a nightclub and expect the bartender to serve you a Bloody Mary with a straight face. It’s a rookie error, and it’s also for your own damn good. That’s because any Bloody Mary made in a bar or restaurant will never, ever taste as good as the one you meticulously craft in your own home. And as a rule, store-bought Bloody Mary mixes should be avoided like the plague. While making one from scratch requires a fair amount of ingredients, Rickey promises that the resulting drink is worth the time and materials spent on its production. Rickey’s recipe follows below. We even included the precise amounts for those of you too timid to eyeball things. Feel free to adjust the ingredient measurements to taste—Rickey prefers a strong drink that induces a taste bud explosion.

  • 1 3/4 oz. pepper vodka, preferably Absolut Peppar
  • 5 oz. tomato juice (not v8 you jackass)
  • Juice from a freshly squozen lime
  • 1 teaspoon diced fresh horseradish
  • Kosher salt (does any other kind of salt exist?)
  • A dash of olive juice
  • Several liberal dashes of Worcestershire sauce
  • Several liberal dashes of Tabasco sauce
  • Freshly cracked black pepper


Place all ingredients in a martini shaker and proceed to shake vigorously. You won’t get the same effect from stirring it, trust us. Pour the finished drink into a highball glass (preferably, one of the Duralex variety) and proceed to enjoy the flavorful goodness. Feel free to add celery as a garnish, but if you’re really under the impression that this drink has any nutritional value beyond its ridiculously high Vitamin C content, you’re even further gone than we’d suspected. Besides, Rickey prefers garnishing his Bloody Marys with olives. Give them a shot—in time, so will you.

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7 comments:

Noah said...

I have found that despite claims to the counter, the Bloody Mary is not a good hangover "hair-of-the-dog" cure. You only think you are cured because you are actually getting buzzed again.

In my own experience, the best cure for a hangover is one of the two: a pint of Guinness, or a Gatorade and a banana.

Anonymous said...

Why does Egan always want one of these bad boys when he's in an airport? Without fail, no matter where I am or what time of day. Except when I'm in the Minneapolis airport - then I usually want something else.

Egan, out!

Toasty Joe said...

What about brunch? Isn't a bloody mary acceptable then?

I'm waiting for the list of times and places when it's acceptable to order a white russian. It's my favorite drink that I never seem to be able to order without blushing like a schoolgirl.

Rickey said...

Good point, brunch would also be a perfectly acceptable time for one.

As far as a White Russian goes, that's a hell of a lot trickier. Sadly, you can only drink one while watching the Big Lebowski, which is kind of a shame. Rickey usually avoids chocolatety drinks, but he makes an exception for White Russians.

And then there's Southern Comfort, which is so disgusting and embarassing that it should only be drank alone. In your apartment. In a tent. With the lights off.

Toasty Joe said...

Fortunately, if you're drinking Southern Comfort, that's probably where you are anyway.

Mike said...

2. On an airplane or in an airport.

Well done, sir. Well done. Just this past Monday, I flew down to Birmingham Alabama at a ludicrously early hour, for an interview with a potential witness . . . that was unexpectedly cancelled at the last minute.

Man, those Bloodys at the B'ham airport at 12:00 noon went down well, let me tell ya. I barely needed the two or three beers that I ended up sucking down at the Atlanta airport when I changed planes.

Best part about business travel? Without a doubt, the guilt-free drinking. (Or more accurately, the nagging-free drinking that comes with traveling without your woman).

Toasty Joe said...

Ahhh, the B'Ham airport. Have been throug there many times, as I used to have a client down there (until they went into liquidation - such is the life of insurance companies). Mike, as I recall, Delta had a direct flight to BHam from Laguardia. I hate changing planes if I can avoid it.