Who else knew that the alcoholic drink the “Bloody Mary” was named after…?

Question

General Robert E. Lee? I was reading his autobiography and apparently his butler/slave used to make him this concoction to relax him. It seems that every time he would sit down to enjoy his favorite beverage, he would be interrupted to tend to war business and he would bellow “Bloody Mary”. It got be quite the joke around the war camps and soon everybody was drinking them and yelling “Bloody Mary”. The tradition continues to this day.

Answer 1

This is taken directly from Wikipedia:

"The Bloody Mary's origins is somewhat disputed. One claim states that it was originally created by George Jessel around 1939. The New York Herald Tribune (December 2, 1939) printed what is believed to be the first reference to this drink, along with the original recipe: "George Jessel’s newest pick-me-up which is receiving attention from the town’s paragraphers is called a Bloody Mary: half tomato juice, half vodka."[citation needed]

Nearly 25 years later, bartender Fernand Petiot of Harry's New York Bar in Paris claimed in The New Yorker (July 18, 1964) to have invented the drink in 1920.

“I initiated the Bloody Mary of today,” he told us. “George Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over. I cover the bottom of the shaker with four large dashes of salt, two dashes of black pepper, two dashes of cayenne pepper, and a layer of Worcestershire sauce; I then add a dash of lemon juice and some cracked ice, put in two ounces of vodka and two ounces of thick tomato juice, shake, strain, and pour. We serve a hundred to a hundred and fifty Bloody Marys a day here in the King Cole Room and in the other restaurants and the banquet rooms.”

In other words, depending on your source, the drinks origins varies.

After bartending several years, I've heard every version of the origins of the drink and it's name. The only way anyone will ever know the truth is to ask the person who actually invented the drink to explain why they gave it the name they did.

As a side note, how can a drink named Bloody Mary be named AFTER Robert E. Lee? That's like saying George was named after his father Herman.

Answer 2

People don't get Mary Queen of Scots and Bloody Mary mixed up.They were different people. Bloody Mary was daughter of Henry The 8th and at 1st was lenient toward the protestants. She thought she could get them back into the Catholic fold with reason and patience. But she became frustrated, physically ill and pressured by her Catholic advisers toward the end of her reign to kill unrelenting protestants in order to bring England back to the Pope. Elizabeth the 1st succeeded her.

Answer 3

Actually it was named after Queen Mary I of England who was Catholic and burned Protestants at the stake. Her reign was particularly violent, so she was referred to as Bloody Mary.

Answer 4

Not true. But he did invent the 'Harvey Wallbanger.' Turns out his butler/slave was named Harvey, but hey, I'm just saying.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.

So a grasshopper goes into a bar and the bartender says, "Hey, we got a drink named after you. And the grasshopper says, "You got a drink named Murray?"

Answer 5

Sorry - don't agree with that story.

Bloody Mary, the drink, is named from Mary Tudor, Queen of England 1553-58, who earned her epithet for vigorous prosecution of Protestants. The drink earned its, apparently, simply for being red from tomato juice.

Answer 6

Mary Queen of Scots was "Bloody Mary"

Answer 7

SInce they did not use vodka at that time the whole premise it doubtful. Tomatoe juice in the Civil War camps. Come on now.What are your references to this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Mary_(cocktail)

Answer 8

Magdolin?

Answer 9

well your story seem to be invalid. "BLOODY MARY'S anyway.

So I must say it's not bloody likely!

Answer 10

I just know it is not good. I do not like them.