Recipe of the Week

Bloody Mary

History: Early 20th Century, either in the U.S. or via American expatriates in Paris. Variations abound, but more or less consistent is the inclusion of vodka, tomato juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire and horseradish. Mitchell’s fiery recipe:

• 2.5 oz vodka
• splash of dark beer (Guinness or Bass will do)
• tomato juice
• four dashes Worcestershire
• five dashes Tabasco
• 1/4 tsp horseradish
• pinch celery salt

Mix, shake. (Duh.) Garnish with olives, celery, lemon or lime squeeze, or other flotsam. Rim the glass with salt and or pepper. Crackhead priests say they like Clamato in place of tomato juice. Do what you like, but it’s the dark beer that makes this fucking awesomely smooth.

Manhattan

History: Dates back to mid 19-Century NYC. Whiskey: You can use rye, Canadian, bourbon, and, yes, you can make it sweeter, but if you use good whiskey why fuck with it like that? Feel free to try it with different kinds of bitters; there are boatloads of variations.

Mitchell’s recipe:

• 2.5 oz whiskey
• .5 oz sweet vermouth
• 3 or 4 dashes o’ Angostura bitters
• Quick squeeze from a fresh orange

Toss it all in a shaker with and strain into a martini glass or pour over ice. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry, if you must. Some prefer a lemon or orange twist.

Drink up, people. Only so many more cocktail hours left before Judgment Day.