National Bloody Mary Day Is On New Year’s Day

It is quite appropriate that the ultimate hangover cocktail, has its “hashtag holiday” on New Year’s Day.

National Bloody Mary Day – yes, there really is such a thing – is annually on Jan. 1. For those staggering out after a big New Year’s Eve ready for a little hair of the dog, a Bloody Mary is just the thing to get them roarin’ again to start the new year.

The recipe for the Bloody Mary is vodka, tomato juice and a variety of spices depending on how spicy one likes this cocktail. It can – and often does – include Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, salt, black pepper and even hot sauce. It’s served with a large stick of celery and sometimes an olive and pickled vegetables on a stick. Some bars even add things such a shrimp, a crab claw or a slice of bacon on the rim.

It works for hangovers because, well, you start drinking again and the alcohol makes you feel better. Also, the Vitamin C and B6 in tomato juice plus the salt replaces lost electrolytes from the acohol, and that helps to reduce a hangover.

Like many famous coctails, the origin of the Bloody Mary is not clearly defined. Some say it was named after a server at a bar called The Bucket Of Blood in Chicago, a rough place with lot of fistfights (thus the name) across from a row of brothels. Others claim it was named after Queen Mary Tudor of England. It became popular toward the end of Prohibition.

Other national drink days include National Beer Day, National Vodka Day, National Martini Day and, well just clink the link to see the dates of what hospitality public relations people call hashtag holidays.