A cornucopia

Apparently there are two kinds of people in this world: those that love a good Bloody Mary, and those that don’t. I happen to fall into the “love” category with a capital L. But then, it is a cocktail, so that’s not too surprising…

On our recent trip to Santa Barbara, I finally got to guzzle taste the Brophy Brothers “famous” Bloody Mary. For as long as we’ve been visiting Santa Barbara, I’ve heard rave reviews about their Bloody Marys, but had never tried one. See, I am a firm believer that Bloody Marys are meant to be enjoyed in the morning, definitely no later than mid-afternoon. Until this trip, the only time we had been to Brophy’s was for dinner and I just couldn’t bring myself to order one. But this time, I bellied up to the bar at 11am with my eye on the prize. Turns out, those rave reviews were spot on. This was easily the best Bloody Mary I had ever tasted. There are no extraordinary ingredients used, unless you consider copious amounts of vodka extraordinary, but the recipe is just spectacular. It has just the right amount of spice and goes down a little too easy.

Unfortunately Andy had to spend his days in a conference for work, so he wasn’t able to taste this perfect concoction. And since his feet are firmly planted in the “don’t” category of loving Bloody Marys, I knew it would take some convincing to get him to try it. For some reason, he is of the belief that they just do not taste good. I can’t even really begin to comprehend such a statement, but thought that there was no way he wouldn’t like this Bloody Mary, so I watched the bartender make it and made mental notes to remake it at home.

The next weekend, as we lounged on the couch watching football, I decided the time was right to introduce him to this beloved cocktail. After mixing one up, I watched him take a very reluctant sip. He promptly ran to the refrigerator, drank milk out of the carton to try to eliminate the taste, and proclaimed that it tasted like I had made it with the contents of our compost bin. Also, he deemed it a “cornucopia of crap.” Well then...not exactly the reaction I was looking for, but entertaining nonetheless. More for me, I guess…

Because I didn’t want to be the only one enjoying a Sunday morning beverage, I opened the liquor cabinet to find something that Andy would love. And when you want Andy to love a drink, chocolate is a safe bet.

Grown-Up Chocolate Milk

2 ounces banana rum (I used Malibu Tropical Banana)

1/2 ounce crème de cacao

1 1/2 ounce cream

1 tablespoon chocolate syrup

ice

Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake until well combined.

Pour into a martini glass or over ice. Garnish with whipped cream or swirl chocolate syrup in glass, if desired.

This cocktail fit the bill perfectly…chocolaty and creamy; it’s basically dessert in a glass. The subtle hint of banana gives this a little unexpected flavor that I really like. If the speed in which Andy drank his is any indication, then these were a winner. It may also be worth noting that he didn’t spit it out or feel the need to rinse his mouth after drinking it.

My recreation of the Brophy Brothers Bloody Mary is not quite perfected yet, but when it is, I plan on sharing it here. In the meantime, I just have to keep testing them…it’s a rough job, but someone’s got to do it.