You know the thing we love about the Bloody Mary? It’s different everywhere you go.
Gin and tonic? It’s gin, it’s tonic, it’s a twist of lime. Whiskey sour? Unlikely you’ll say to yourself “wow, this is a really good whiskey sour!”
But if you want to test a bartender’s chops, taste the difference between a drink slinger and a beverage artist, a poseur and a potation potentate, a liquor ladler and a libation Liberace, you need something that has enough variety and opportunity for innovation to allow the mixologist to shine.
Witness, the Bloody Mary: spicy, tart, rich, thick, thin, meaty, or, in some bartenders’ hands, perhaps none of these.
It seems, if recent comments are to be believed, that this fair blog features too much “kids stuff”. We seek now to rectify this imbalance with a question and a challenge: who makes the best Bloody Mary in Wallingford?
We’re accepting nominations in the comments section. We’re also accepting self-nominations for co-judge. Once the list of contenders is drawn up, we’ll be paying visits to the various Wallingford watering holes, sampling the wares, and reporting back with our detailed findings. If others choose to join us in our investigation, we’ll provide a forum for that, as well.
At the Pour House yesterday one of the bartenders was bragging about the bar’s “top secret” Bloody Mary recipe. It being 4pm I did not sample one, but suggest you see if it lives up to his hype.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a bloody mary in Wallingford. A challenge! I’ll report back.
I think the best dive bar for breakfast is The Dock, the bloody mary there is pretty decent.
I’ve heard the Pac Inn makes a great Bloody Mary, though I’ve never tried one myself.
It used to be the Luau. Maybe the Pour House can continue on the tradition.
@ gunnar – That’s right! I have had a bloody Mary in Wallinford – at Leny’s! It was great. I’ll see if I can find my picture of it to post.
Fraid I must come out of my anonymity and fess up that, for the longest time, I thought this column was written by one of the local mommies. So much kid stuff. Anyway, that said, the real secret to a truly fine bloody mary (I make em at home, so I must be the best bartender around) is a product you can get at cash n carry or restaurant supply store called “Dimitri’s bloody mary seasoning”. Try it, you’ll like it!
> Whiskey sour? Unlikely you’ll say to yourself “wow, this is a really
> good whiskey sour!”
Them’s fightin’ words!
For starters, a good whiskey sour is made with fresh lemon juice. You’d think that’s pretty straightforward, but run-of-the-mill bars use commercial “sour mix” which is basically lemon Kool-Aid. It’s a crystalline powder designed to save all that terrifying manual labor of cutting and squeezing a lemon, and it tastes about as awful as it sounds.
But if you want “a really good whiskey sour!” then use a Meyer lemon. That’s a whiskey sour that will make a lady blush, a dame swear, and a woman ask for seconds. Absolutely delicious.
If you want to make a kick-ass Bloody Mary at home, I recommend the following recipe:
Bloody Mary
2oz vodka
5oz fresh tomato juice
1/2oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
8 drops Tobasco
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2tsp Horseradish sauce
1/2oz tawny port
2 pinches celery salt
2 pinches fresh ground black pepper
You’ll want a salt-and-pepper rim with that. Put plenty of salt and fresh ground black pepper in a saucer and moisten the rim of the glass with a lemon slice, then press down into the salt-and-pepper mixture. Garnish with a celery stalk, naturally.
I have actually said “that’s a great whiskey sour!”, just a couple of months ago when trying the bourbon sour at Bathtub Gin. it’s got egg whites in it. The only great Bloody Mary I’ve had in W-ford was the wasabi mary at Luau, which is apparently closed.
Shamus
all this talk of bloody marys and whiskey sours makes me thirsty – although I’d rather have an amaretto sour, haven’t developed a taste for whiskey.
I like my bloody marys good and spicy! I’m anxious to hear the winner
Al's!
hey slacker jordan…
what ever happened here? any winner??
how about a wallyhood meetup at the winner?
there has a been a paucity of nominations though so we can forgive you.
If you like Dimitris try Brenarskys it wins hands down to make the ultimate Bloody mary or Blood Caesar.