The hipness of the ‘Bloody Mary’ has exploded for two reasons. First, Bloody Mary’s aren’t boring. A little creativity can go along way. Turn your Bloody Mary into a Bloody Maria by using tequila instead of vodka, or go dark with a Bourbon Mary.
Second, well the second reason, may just be the pandemic. The cocktail industry has been very public about the surge in liquor sales worldwide, as millions who could not venture out, discovered their inner mixologist. And from I’ve seen every Sunday morning social media, the Bloody Mary is the preferred drink of Sunday brunch.
And if Bloody’s are your drink of choice, and you live in St. Louis, I have some great news for you.
St. Louis based Southside Alchemy was recently honored with the Gold medal in the spicy category at the 4th annual International Drunken Tomato Awards. The Drunken Tomato Awards, an international bloody mary competition, rewards the hard work and passion of industry manufacturers who produce superior products. “The Drunken Tomato Awards represent a standard of achievement within the bloody mary community,” says company Founder, Shelley Buchanan.
Sweat & Tears was cited by the judges for “Medium consistency; sweet mild heat with underlying celery flavors; good heat build, a good level of acidity, and good thickness.; pretty spicy. Black peppery spice.”
Sweat & Tears won gold last year in the new release category, making this the second consecutive gold medal at Drunken Tomato.
“I was testing the waters last year, so to speak and wasn’t sure which category to enter it in so I went with new release. To win gold again in the spicy category is extremely humbling,” said Todd Brutcher creator of Southside Alchemy.
Southside Alchemy’s latest mix Mild Mannered Mary, released in September 2020, took the Silver medal in the mild wing of the competition.
Judges described the best aspect of Mild Mannered. “It’s thick and has a lot of body; Beautiful look in the glass, with some hefty thickness.; Thickness if you like that; There isn’t anything specific that stands out with this, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s a little spicy for a “mild” mix, but a good general mix.”
Southside Alchemy is distributed locally by Craft Republic and Fox River Dairy. Both retail for around $11
The award-winning mixes are sold at a number of local retailers, including Schnucks, Civil Alchemy, and Legrands, farmers markets, and utilized at lots of area restaurants like 9 Mile Garden and Grace, Meat & Three.
