Today was a bad day on a great course. Went to Fire Ridge and played a little golf, then hit up Flannery’s as the 19th hole.
Verdict: They were decent, but not good enough to erase a poor round.
Mix: It was just OK.
Spice: I added pepper from the table just to give it something.
Chaser: None.
Fixin’s: Pickle, 2 olives and a lemon.
Price: $5.50
Yesterday I went to the Cedarburg Wine & Harvest Festival. I bypassed the wine initially and ducked into Maxwell’s to check out their bloody.
Mix: Tasted like V8 to me.
Spice: Not very.
Chaser: None.
Fixin’s: Pickle and a lemon.
Price: $6. Save your money for the wine at the Fest….
Today was the first Packers game of the season, so of course we had to get the whole gang back together and head to O’Sullivan’s, the bar we frequented during the Pack’s Super Bowl run and most of last season.
They’ve got great drink specials and free food at half time. This may shock you, but one of the things that I love best is the build-your-own-bloody bar on Sundays.
They will hand you a glass that contains ice, vodka and a beef stick. The rest is up to you.
Mix: Choose from a couple of different mixes. Today I chose Jimmy Luv’s, though typically I will choose Zing Zang.
Spice: As spicy as you’d like! There’s Tobasco, horseradish and such for you to add to taste.
Chaser: A small glass of Miller Lite.
Fixin’s: See the photo, above. You get one beef stick and then you can choose the rest: mushrooms, beans, asparagus, okra, olives, pearl onions, celery, pickles, lemon, lime, jalapenos and assorted peppers.
Price: $6. It’s the same price as an entire pitcher of beer there during the game, but trust me, while the Packers might let you down from time to time, your bloody won’t.
In February, while visiting New York, I made a pilgrimage to the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel, the birthplace of the Red Snapper, or the original Bloody Mary!
A brief history lesson: In 1934, St. Regis Bartender Fernand Petiot introduced the “Red Snapper,” which later became what we know (and love) today as the Bloody Mary. Before coming to the St. Regis, Fernand has experimented with the drink in Paris. According to the King Cole’s website, “The famed cocktail as we know it was created when Serge Obolensky, a well known man about town, asked Petiot to make the vodka cocktail he had in Paris. The formula was spiced up with salt, pepper, lemon and Worcestershire Sauce, but since ‘Bloody Mary’ was deemed too vulgar for the hotel’s elegant King Cole Bar, it was rechristened the ‘Red Snapper’.” The name never caught on, but the drink’s reigned supreme in bars across the world ever since.
Mix: Very basic, very thin.
Spice: Not overly spicy, but you sure can taste the alcohol!
Chaser: Not in Fernand’s plan. No chaser for you.
Fixin’s: No frills-make do with your lemon.
Price: A steep $22. Nothing in NYC is cheap!
One of my favorite holidays, I mean events, is the Tomato Romp on Milwaukee’s East Side. For just $20, you get to sample Bloody Marys from most of that area’s bars. A fun time is sure to be had by all!
Here’s a link to a post I wrote on Miller Park’s Bloody Marys—one of my favorites and I’m not just saying that!
Did you know that if you say ‘Bloody Mary’ three times into a mirror, you’re wasting your time? You should ask the bartender instead.
Cait’s Tip #DRINKYOURVEGGIES
Today I went to Mulligan’s after golfing with my dad, Gordy and Mike at Ives Grove. There really isn’t any other good bar to patronize after golfing in the area, so we end up here. We typically go on Sundays, but with today being Labor Day, we found ourselves in the establishment to catch the last 3 innings of the Brewers-Marlins game. I, of course, ordered a bloody. No surprise, I’ve had them here plenty of times. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t anything to, well, blog about, really. But in a pinch, they will do. And trust me, I’m not complaining—I had two.
Mix: Unknown.
Spice: This bloody is not very spicy, even when requested.
Chaser: A small glass of Miller Lite.
Fixin’s: Lime, 3 olives, 2 pickle slices, a quarter of a beef stick and a celery stalk
Price:$5.95 (Tip: Usually $4.50 on Sundays!)
Today I went to AJ Bomber’s and enjoyed their “Bloody Bomber.” This bloody has long been one of my favorites and I thought it appropriate to kick off the blog with this one.
Mix: “Secret” recipe
Spice: This bloody is not very spicy, but it doesn’t have to be.
Chaser: A 7oz Miller Lite pony
Fixin’s: Lemon, lime, 2 olives, a pickle slice and-the kicker-a piece of burger wrapped in muenster cheese & bacon.
Price:$7.50
I’m the type of person who orders a bloody no matter the time—10 in the morning, or 10 at night, there is no bad time for a bloody.
[Related: I’m also the one who bartenders often lie to in order to get out of making them in those later hours, “We’re out of tomato juice,” they’ll say.]
My Facebook albums are filled with photos of the drinks and I even own a pair of Bloody Mary earrings. I live for The Tomato Romp, a Milwaukee festival dedicated to my beloved beverage. I’ve made a pilgrimage to the St. Regis Hotel in NYC, the supposed site of the drink’s invention.
I tell you all of this as my “credentials” for what I’m about to embark on—a bloody awesome journey reviewing the best & the worst for you here.
Cheers!
-Cait
