Mixing the Perfect
Day-After Drink

The best hair-of-the-dog drink known to man? The Bloody Mary. But like most classic cocktails, it's best when kept simple, according to Benjamin Sinclair, of New York's King Cole Bar.

He'd know. The King Cole is where bartender Fernand Petiot first mixed the savory concoction in 1934. At the time, a moniker like Bloody Mary was deemed a tad graphic, so it was dubbed the Red Snapper. "The name may not have stood the test of time, the drink sure has," says Sinclair. "It remains the signature cocktail of the bar."

The key is mastering the proportions and editing out unnecessary ingredients. Remember, you're not making a soup. In fact, you don't even need the celery. The King Cole's is served sans leafy stalk. You are recovering, after all. You could poke your eye out.

Ingredients

• 2 oz tomato juice
• 1 oz vodka
• 1 dash lemon juice
• 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 dashes black pepper
• 2 dashes cayenne pepper
• a pinch of salt

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. No shaker? No problem. Mix up a batch in a pitcher. Pour over ice cubes in a highball glass and garnish with lemon wedge.