ETHANOL

BLOODY MARY

Harry's New York Bar, Paris, 1921.

HIGHBALL
ETHANOL 14 G98 KCAL FROM ETHANOL7.28 OZ SERVED

SPEC

1½ oz · 45 mlVODKA40 %
4 oz · 120 mlTOMATO JUICE
½ oz · 15 mlLEMON JUICE
4 dashesWORCESTERSHIRE
3 dashesHOT SAUCE
2 dashesCELERY SALT
2 dashesBLACK PEPPER

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

METHOD

  1. 01BUILD ALL INGREDIENTS IN A HIGHBALL OVER ICE
  2. 02STIR GENTLY OR ROLL BETWEEN TINS
  3. 03GARNISH WITH CELERY + OLIVE + LEMON

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

STRENGTH // WORKED

Pre-batch6.33 oz mixed with ice, 0.6 oz of it pure alcohol
MeltStirred: +15 % of the pre-batch, +0.95 oz of water
Served6.33 + 0.95 = 7.28 oz in the glass
Strength0.6 ÷ 7.28 = 8.2 % ABV as served
Ethanol0.6 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 14 g · about 98 kcal from the alcohol alone

IN THE GLASS

FURFURAL

FROM VODKA GRAIN TRACE · the toasted/caramel note

Formula
C₅H₄O₂
Mass
96.08 g/mol
IUPAC
furan-2-carbaldehyde

The toasted-almond / caramel note in aged port, madeira, and amontillado sherry, formed when sugars in the wine slowly oxidize during long oxidative cask aging. Also in roasted coffee, baked bread, and any food that's been browned through Maillard chemistry. The deeper the toast on a bourbon barrel, the more furfural extracts into the spirit; the longer the madeira sits in the estufa, the more accumulates.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Vodka Soda · Vodka Cranberry · Screwdriver · Bloody Caesar · Black Russian · White Russian · Lemon Drop · Kamikaze

CAPSAICIN

FROM HOT SAUCE · the heat

Formula
C₁₈H₂₇NO₃
Mass
305.42 g/mol
IUPAC
(E)-N-[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-8-methylnon-6-enamide

The chili pepper alkaloid. Binds TRPV1 (the same receptor that fires for actual heat), which is why the body sweats from a spicy drink even when the liquid is cold. Mango-chili cocktails, chili-rimmed mezcal, and some bitter aperitifs lean on it. Mammals respond; birds don't have the receptor, which is how peppers evolved to be dispersed by birds while being unappealing to mammals that would crunch the seeds.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Bloody Caesar · Picante · Paloma Negra

CHEMISTRY

Vodka, tomato, two acids, umami and heat. Capsaicin from hot sauce binds TRPV1 receptors (the burn), glutamate from Worcestershire triggers umami, and lycopene-rich tomato supplies the color and body. The brunch standard: it has been seasoned this way at the St. Regis since 1934.

PROVENANCE

Credited to Fernand Petiot at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in 1921; he later took it to the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis in New York, where it was served as the 'Red Snapper' (the hotel's Astor owners objected to 'Bloody Mary' as too coarse). The comedian George Jessel also claimed it; Petiot said the drink he took over was vodka and tomato juice. The recipe escalated through the 20th century: at the St. Regis in 1934 Petiot added salt, black pepper, cayenne, Worcestershire and lemon. The celery and hot sauce accrued later.

VODKA // NEARBY

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