Get Ready for San Francisco's First Annual Bloody Mary Festival!
On Sunday, September 28, 2014, 500 bloody mary enthusiasts and 13 bloody mary competitors will converge at The Public Works for the 1st Annual San Francisco Bloody Mary Festival. Evan and Yunna Weiss of the Bloody Mary Liberation Party previously hosted the wildly successful 1st Annual Brooklyn Bloody Mary Festival (and by wildly successful, I mean, I'm pretty sure people were offering bizarre sexual favors in exchange for tickets to this sold out event). I'm sure the San Francisco Festival will be no less of a booming success. Evan was kind enough to give me a behind-the-scenes look at this upcoming event.
Your first Bloody Mary festival was in Brooklyn and sold out weeks in advance. Why did you choose San Francisco for the second festival?
Just as Brooklyn/NYC was the obvious choice to hold the first Bloody Mary festival, San Francisco was the clear choice for the second. We have good friends in SF, so we are fortunate that we visit often. The amount of restaurants combined with the wide varieties of food is astonishing… And that’s coming from someone that lives in NYC! Second, people in San Fran always seem to be looking for and doing really unique and fun things. There always seems to be new experiences to be had in San Francisco. Third, there are so many creative people here. I have so many friends from the Burning Man community that call the Bay Area home. All of this combines with the fact that the people in San Fran always seem to be at the forefront of innovation. I always seem to leave San Fran with a new app on my phone. So we have a city with a wide range of diverse flavors and tastes, fun and new experiences, creativity and innovation. The same words used to describe San Fran also perfectly describe what we have in store for you on September 28th.
Give us a sneak peak at the bloody marys we'll be drinking at the festival.
We are blown away by the caliber of bars and restaurants that are participating. They put so much dedication and creativity in to their Bloody Marys. You are pretty much guaranteed that their other cocktails and food are incredible, too. Here is a glimpse of what you will be drinking at the festival:
Elite Café: They use only fresh grated horseradish equally balanced with hints of Dijon mustard. Garnished with pepper jack cheese, an olive, an onion, and a Cajun spiced rim.
The Boardroom: They make their batch two days in advance by using a variety of delicious spices and horseradish. Garnished with olives and their special house made pickled string beans, and a salted and spiced rim, all topped with Worcestershire.
Harvey's: It’s called the “Bloody Mary Lou Retton,” which alone deserves a ‘10’. Made with their special bloody mix and vodka infused with Manzano pepper and garlic.
Maven: “The Maven Bloody” – Basil Eau De Vie, Gin, Balsamic, Tabasco, Horseradish, garnished w house made pickles.
Blackbird: “Bourbon Bloody Mary” – Made with Evan Williams Single Barrel Bourbon, smoky chipotle with a touch of horseradish and citrus. Garnished with a house-made pickled baby carrot.
25 Lusk: "Koko Melia" - Hawaiian Bloody Mary made with house infused bacon vodka, pineapple juice, house made bloody mar mix. Garnished with candied sun-gold cherry tomato, house cured prosciutto, Highway 1 cheese. Aloha!
Finnegan's Wake: A more traditional Bloody Mary along with their secret yummy spices. Garnished with olive, onion, pickled string beans.
Park Tavern: “The P.T. Bloody” – Horseradish and beef stock create a platform for this spicy, rich and full-bodied Bloody Mary. Sweet tomato balances with the earthy tones of smoked paprika, toasted cumin and celery seed. Garnished with house-made beef jerky and Cajun Chef's Spicy beans.
Cliff House: The “Cliff House Classic” that is sold about 20,000 times/year is a more traditional mix with loads of Umami from Clam Juice and Worcestershire. Garnishes: lime, pepperoncini and olive.
Elixir: “Bloody Elixir” – A mix of pickling brines, dill, white pepper, celery salt, and a rim of Old Bay helped make this one of GQ Magazine’s Top 20 Cocktails in America in 2008.
St. Mary's Pub: “The Greatest Hit” – It has chipotle and habanero, complimented with lots of fresh citrus and their homemade touches. This bloody is spicy, smoky, and tangy!
Nick's Cove: A classic style Bloody Mary. Lots of flavor and spice black pepper, red pepper flakes and coriander. It's a little on the spicy side but still very balanced with fresh citrus like lemon and lime-juice. Finished with house-pickled green bean.
Five: “Beet ‘n Bloody” – Five’s house tomato Bloody Mary mix, house-made golden beet puree mix, and beet infused vodka, garnished with celery and beet salt.
For more information, please visit the San Francisco Bloody Mary Festival page. Tickets are available via Eventbrite and include unlimited tastes of San Francisco's BEST Bloody Marys, local artisanal food samples, music, and ONE VOTE for the People's Choice Award for the Best Bloody Mary in San Francisco.
Also, I will be judging the competition! So you better come say hello!