Savory Spice Shop Offers Bloody Mary Ideas

By Savory Spice Shop in Downtown Franklin

If you haven’t been to the Savory Spice shop in Historic Downtown Franklin, then you have missed out on a culinary experience. And for Bloody Mary fans, the many different fresh spices and locally grown garnishes offer a variety of ideas for experimentation.

There are no definitive origins of the name or recipe for Bloody Mary, but everyone seems to have a story as to where it came from. One theory claims that the drink was named after the ruthless Queen Mary I of England in the 1550s. The tomato juice is said to represent the blood spilt during her reign, and the vodka represents firewater for the methods she used to burn Protestant martyrs alive. Another story suggests the drink may commemorate Mary Kelly, the final victim of the infamous Jack the Ripper in London in 1888. A bit gruesome, no?

Another, more uplifting, tale traces the original Bloody Mary to a Parisian bartender working at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in the 1920s, and his creation of a simple tomato juice cocktail (that may or may not have contained alcohol) became popular with his patrons. He brought the drink to New York after Prohibition ended, spiked it with vodka or gin, spiced it up with various seasonings (including horseradish and hot sauce) and it became a hit with the Americans. (Source).

Everyone has their own recipes. Vodka, Gin, and Tequila are popular spirits in most recipes. But it’s the mix and the rim that separate most. Popular mixes like Zing-Zang and Tomato Juice are available in stores. But you can make your own with left over tomato soup, tomato sauce or even gazpacho. Add some zip with tomato powder and horseradish powder. Many different salts and powders are available at Savory Spice to rim your glass or spice up your mix: Hickory Smoked Sea Salt, Wasabi powder, Red Thai Curry Powder, Celery Salt, and for the real brave, Ghost Powder Sea-Salt , just to name a few.

Popular with Bloody Mary experts are the garnishments: Pickled Okra and Pickled Green Beans are available at Savory Spice and are locally grown and canned. Bacon, shrimp, celery and pepperoncini are also popular.

In the next couple of weeks Mellow Mushroom, across the street from Savory, will be introducing a “Build-Your-Own-Bloody- Mary” menu on the weekends. Customers will be able to pick various items and spices from the menu. The spices will be from Savory Spice Shop as will some of the garnishments. Williamson Source will be doing a video on this in the very near future.

Savory Spice Shop is located at 324 Main Street in Historic Downtown Franklin.