Continuing our journey round Swindon in 50 drinks, this post features the Bloody Mary you see in the picture below – at The Tuppeny in Swindon’s Old Town.
I saw this image of this rather splendid looking Bloody Mary on the Twitter stream of The Tuppenny in Old Town.
Now while I don’t care for too many cocktails, I am partial to this one. So seeing this … part drink/part… snack piqued my interest.
About the Bloody Mary
Legend has it that the Bloody Mary drink is named for Queen Mary. She of the five-year reign in which she tried to turn the country back to Catholicism.
The story of its invention is a long one and you can read it all here: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2016/06/invented-bloody-mary-drink/ The story begins with an American bar in Paris, that opened on Thanksgiving Day 1911, by an expat and horse jockey named Ted Sloan.
How to make a Bloody Mary here:
https://youtu.be/Alt-ehDc3fc
What’s in a Bloody Mary?
This cockail contains vodka, tomato juice, and combinations of other spices and flavourings including Worcestershire sauce, hot sauces, garlic, herbs, horseradish, celery, olives, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, lime juice and/or celery salt.
The drink is often taken as a hangover cure or ‘ hair of the dog’ drink, reputed to cure hangovers with its combination of a heavy vegetable base (to settle the stomach), salt (to replenish lost electrolytes), and alcohol (to relieve head and body aches).
Its reputation as a restorative beverage contributes to the popularity of the Bloody Mary in the morning and early afternoon, especially at brunches. Which might explain why, when I went to The Tuppeny on a Thursday evening to sample the magnificent specimen you see above, they hadn’t got the necessary ingredients. Disappointed! Another time I hope.
They did though – and do have – some splendid craft beers. Which I sampled with gusto.
As it says on their website:
‘We carry an amazing, ever changing range of craft beer and cider sourced both from our own region and from across the world. Our house beers are from the crack team at West Berkshire Brewery, located just up the road from Swindon, these guys brew some of the most exciting award winning beers around.
Always available on keg from their Renegade range is Craft Lager and West Coast Pale Ale, and they supply us with their multi-award winning cask beer “Good Old Boy” as well. We work closely with these guys and will also be running their pilot brews and any other exciting, cutting edge beers when the opportunity arises.’
