<P> Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented the Bloody Mary in 1921, well before any of the later claims, according to his grand - daughter . He was working at the New York Bar in Paris at the time, which later became Harry's New York Bar, a frequent Paris hangout for Ernest Hemingway and other American expatriates . The original cocktail is said to have been created on the spur - of - the - moment, according to the bar's own traditions, consisting only of vodka and tomato juice . Harry's Bar also claims to have created numerous other classic cocktails, including the White Lady and the Side Car . </P> <P> New York's 21 Club has two claims associated with it . One is that it was invented in the 1930s by a bartender named Henry Zbikiewicz, who was charged with mixing Bloody Marys . Another attributes its invention to the comedian George Jessel, who frequented the 21 Club . In 1939, Lucius Beebe printed in his gossip column This New York one of the earliest U.S. references to this drink, along with the original recipe: "George Jessel's newest pick - me - up which is receiving attention from the town's paragraphers is called a Bloody Mary: half tomato juice, half vodka". </P> <P> Fernand Petiot later claimed to have invented the modern Bloody Mary in 1934 as a refinement to Jessel's drink, at the King Cole Room in New York's St. Regis Hotel, according to the hotel's own history . When Petiot spoke to The New Yorker magazine in July 1964, he said: </P> <P> "I initiated the Bloody Mary of today," he told us . "Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over . I cover the bottom of the shaker with four large dashes of salt, two dashes of black pepper, two dashes of cayenne pepper, and a layer of Worcestershire sauce; I then add a dash of lemon juice and some cracked ice, put in two ounces of vodka and two ounces of thick tomato juice, shake, strain, and pour . We serve a hundred to a hundred and fifty Bloody Marys a day here in the King Cole Room and in the other restaurants and the banquet rooms ." </P>

Where does the name bloody mary come from