What do you know about Bloody Marys?

I'm not a fan of Bloody Marys for the simple fact that I'd rather eat my tomatoes rather than drink them. However, I came across this company called "Amazing Hazel." They have given Bloody Mary life again with their Bloody Mary Mix. I want you to meet Dave VanWye, president of his company Amazing Hazel.

Before I can get into the "Amazing Hazel" brand, let us learn about the actual cocktail "Bloody Mary."

Origin of The Bloody Mary

It's been discrepancies in who and where the Bloody Mary came from, but from what I can gather, I would give more credit to Ferdinand "Pete" Petiot. Around 1920, émigrés escaping the Russian Revolution began arriving in Paris, bringing vodka and caviar—a bartender at Harry's Bar in Paris, France. Ferdinand "Pete" Petiot started experimenting with the new spirit, which he found tasteless. At that time, Americans were really into canned tomato juice, which was back in the Prohibition Period. So it was called a "tomato juice cocktail."

Petiot traveled to New York City and worked at King Cole Bar at the St. Régis Hotel; at this time, “The Red Snapper” was very popular. Below you will see the original recipe.

“The Red Snapper” Original Recipe

• 1 oz Stolichnaya vodka

• 2 oz Tomato juice

• 1 dash of lemon juice

• 2 dashes salt

• 2 dashes of black pepper

• 2 dashes of cayenne pepper

• 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

• Garnish w/a lemon wedge & celery stalk

Here’s how to do it:

1. Pour contents into your glass.

2. Garnish with celery, lemon wedges, and green olives.

3. Enjoy!

In 2014, The Red Snapper was very popular. King Cole Bar sold about 850 Red Snappers each month. So, with continued trial and error, the Bloody Mary was created.

Now, The Amazing Hazel believes in creating the perfect Bloody Mary whenever you want. Amazing Hazel is a business that grew from the rediscovery of Dave's grandmother (Hazel). She made this unique and delicious recipe for her chili sauce, but after the death of his mother in 2011 and Dave being an only child, he inherited her recipes. Dave remembers this wonderful-tasting chili sauce from when he was a child and began making it at home for family and friends.

Encouraged by friends and a business consultant (Indiana Originals) to bottle this product and began the daunting task of becoming a legal food entity. He obtained a GS1 Barcode registration and the additional LLC business requirements. He started the process in December 2016 and became a legal business entity in January 2017.

The next task was determining the sourcing of the cooking, bottling, packaging, labeling, and product ingredient.

In June 2018, "Amazing Hazel" was introduced as our Premium Bloody Mary Mix. Amazing Hazel has been featured on Indy Style TV and was selected as the ONLY Mix for the Indiana Crohn's and Colitis Foundation Annual fundraiser. In addition, it received excellent reviews from Bloody Mary connoisseurs from New York to LA and Chicago to Wisconsin... "Amazing Hazel" Bloody Mary Mix would be a great addition to those markets.

The Bloody Mary Mix was created out of necessity and my desire to reduce waste. While making the chili sauce, they produced over 30-40 gallons of tomato-infused water going down the drain as a waste product. So for over a year, Dave worked on reducing that waste and developed the Bloody Mary Mix recipe.

It was an immediate hit and soon was in high demand. AWARD-WINNING (DRUNKEN TOMATO INTERNATIONAL BLOODY MARY COMPETITION .... _...the winner of silver medal in their first INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AS BEST NEW PRODUCT OF 2018!

Dave began bottling and selling Amazing Hazel on June 21st, 2018, and to this date, have sold over 3,000 32 oz bottles. Amazing Hazel now has a 9.5 oz size that can serve two...this size is great for gift baskets and first-time consumers. In addition, it has been selected to be at the Indiana Store at Indianapolis International Airport..which is an easy grab-and-go for your next flight as it is post-security.

The Bloody Mary Mix has been in over 40 Kroger stores and is now a combined product in approximately 70 retail locations and expanding.

Dave has opened my eyes and thirst to try a Bloody Mary. Ingredients are even better

*No preservatives

*All natural ingredients

*Vegan and gluten Free

*Does not contain Horseradish or Worcestershire sauce ...

*Fresh Ginger. Which has been the component that seemed to melt the flavors...

Follow and share Amazing Hazel on Instagram to get more details about where you can place your order or where they will be at their next event. You can also follow my Facebook and Instagram Page, "Simply Great Mixed Drinks!"

Until Next time...

Simply Jaynae