New Year's Day Bloodys

w/ Sheila, another Bloody aficionado @ New Year's Day brunch

Our Christmas pre-dinner cocktails have always been egg nog and mulled wassail. And our New Year's Eve belongs to vintage Champagne. But New Year's Day has always been all about the Bloody Mary in my book. Comfort Food. Just when you need it most.

The problem is I cannot get nor can I even make a decent Bloody Mary in South Africa. It seems the country lacks some key ingredients. I cannot even get them at my go-to place for comfort food, Thrupp's in Illovo.

Portuguese Bloody at Bizerca

The closest I got to any comfort this New Year's Day was a Portuguese Bloody at Bizerca in Cape Town. Good but not my Bloody Mary.

I take my Bloodys seriously. You see, I make the best Bloody Marys on the planet. This is not a boast; it is a fact. I cannot do much, but this I know. I have done my research too and my recipe takes a little from the very best I've had. From NYC (too many places to mention) to the remote wilderness of Alaska  (Skinnny Dick's Half Way Inn) to Bermuda (the Hog Penny) and many of the islands of the Caribbean. And everywhere in between. Like Ike's Breakfast Bloody in Minneapolis, MN and the tres cher but very discreet Bloody at Shutters in Malibu. And countless wonderful bloody places in New England!

King Cole Bar

There are pockets of civility outside the US and environs too. Certainly in Europe, like the make-your-own Bloodys at Les Deux Magots in Paris.

This makes sense as the Bloody Mary was reputedly either invented in New York at the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel or in Paris at Harry's Bar, depending on who you ask. I think of it as a New York original myself.

Bubby's

Oddly enough, my favorite Bloody Mary in NY is not the one they serve at the King Cole Room. While my favorite Bloody in NYC is a moving target, completely dependent on the volatility of the New York restaurant and bar scene, my current faves are the perfectly spiced Bloodys at Bubby's in Tribeca...

Rouge Tomate

and / or the organic ones at Rouge Tomate on the Upper East Side.














But until I can find one to my liking at a bar in South Africa, I am going to have to make my own. And until I can find the right ingredients, I will continue to be disappointed. Hoping for some bloody satisfaction in the New Year!







Here is my recipe and the ingredients:

The base is Clamato Juice:
I cannot find it in South Africa. Tomato Juice and V8, yes, but Clamato, not yet. (You see, I am hopeful!)

Add enough Absolut Peppar vodka for effect but not to overpower:
I cannot find it here either, but I can make it.

Add enough Gold's Prepared Horseradish so that you can see it floating in the Clamato juice: 
It does not exist here. There is "prepared horseradish", but it is not the same preparation. I may have to grow my own horseradish and prepare it myself.

A few shakes of Celery Salt: 
Woolies has it.

A few generous dashes of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce:
ditto.

Another few generous dashes of Outerbridge Sherry Pepper Sauce: 
Hard to get outside of Bermuda, but I brought a lifetime supply with me to South Africa.

Freshly ground pepper and a squeeze of some lemon and lime wedges to taste:
plentiful in this Garden of Eden.

Vince and Skinny Dick

One or two Pickled Green Beans:
I use these as my garnish instead of celery stalks. We learned this trick from Skinny Dick himself and they are a great addition. I cannot find these here either but I can make them easily as well.

Stir and be comforted.

Bloody skull shots

I better find the rest of the ingredients in the next few months or my Halloween will be ruined too!
















(Post postscript: we took matters into our own hands. We made our own pepper vodka, I made "clamato ice cubes" with organic tomato juice and clam juice, and we prepared our own horseradish. Halloween is saved!)