This is how Lucky Devil Bloody Mary came to be…
It all started with Uncle John. Uncle John is one of those once-in-a-lifetime people you meet that is an instant friend and true gentleman in every sense of the word. He can turn anything he interacts with into magic, whether it is friendships, burgers, a cold beer or cocktails, and most especially evident in my cousins and his granddaughters. We have been very close with him all our lives. He is my mom’s brother and he has always been in charge of making the Bloody Mary’s at our family gatherings. This is no small task – he and my mom are siblings from a crew of seven, and a good Bloody Mary is always how things get started, continue, conclude and recover with our family gatherings. No matter whose house we were in or the occasion, Uncle John was in charge of the Bloody Mary’s. He would disappear into your refrigerator, spice rack and pantry and suddenly turn around with a glass of deliciousness, no matter the lack or abundance of ingredients you had at your house. I swear one time it felt like he made it out of thin air from a completely empty kitchen. Always amazing and always left us asking for more!
One summer at the Jersey Shore, he and my aunt were visiting and I decided to make him a Bloody Mary for him to enjoy for a change, vs. us waiting for him to arrive and make them for everyone as usual. This was intimidating but a small gesture so he could relax and enjoy himself. After a sip, he said he liked it and that now I was now in charge. NO WAY! This would be like the King turning to the court jester and saying you run the kingdom. I was scared to death but determined to do him proud. This began a few months of notes, trials, errors, spreadsheets and multiple taste tests throughout the region. As we got closer & closer, we arrived at nineteen ingredients that were awesome, but just missing “something”. Finally, after what felt like my thousandth Bloody Mary in 60 days and countless interrogations of bartenders, chefs, servers and fellow enthusiasts, we found our 20th ingredient and called the recipe complete.
We started sharing with not only family but friends as well. Two in particular – Pat and Paul – always took them on their vacations to the Outer Banks. Then my close friend Mark said you really ought to brand and sell this, and I then launched Lucky Devil Bloody Mary.
My kids and I started making them one night a week and then another batch on the weekends. We deliver most of them within reasonable distance of our house and leave them on the doorstep like a modern day milk bottle delivery. My kids still help with the mixing, bottling, corking and labeling when their crazy schedules permit (though lately they seem to be on strike!). Lucky Devil remains true to our twenty – 20! – ingredients...always home made with the same attention to detail and passion in every bottle. Uncle John approved…and we hope you do too. Sláinte!
