As I mentioned yesterday, good times were had Saturday at Peppers in Rehoboth Beach, DE. This was partly due to the fact that I met and hung out with Stephen "The Murph" Murphy, proprietor of The Murph's Famous Bloody Mary Mix. We talked about all the effort that goes into starting your own food products company, discussed how difficult (though essential) it is to compete with big distributors, and shared a few stories of our successes and failures. While all new businesses have their ups and downs, it was nice to know that other people with good products feel like they're flailing at times, too, and to simply talk to someone who actually admits it.
But what I want to talk about at the moment is Murph's bloody mary mix. To be honest, I was pretty bummed that he was giving out samples without alcohol. I'm assuming there's some Delaware regulation or liquor law that prohibits such a thing in a hot sauce shop, but a bloody mary mix really needs to be sampled as it would be prepared at the bar -- in a bloody mary. Plus, the only virgins I like are ... well, you get my drift. On the other hand, sampling this mix without liquor gave me the opportunity to appreciate the product for what it is, all naked and vulnerable. And it's a damn good bloody mary mix.
The Murph's Famous Bloody Mary Mix starts out with tomato paste and water, not vegetable juice, so that means all the flavors in the mixer are authentic. I make bloody marys from scratch using V8 juice. And while I'm not necessarily inclined to use a prepared mix, I'm generally not a fan of tomato juice in and of itself, either. However, although I sampled Murph's mix all by itself, it was much easier on the palate than even a good tomato juice. It was smooth and flavorful with no hint of individually overbearing ingredients (much less the "heavy" taste you often get with some of the mainstream bloody mary mixes). To me, this is especially important when it comes to horseradish. While no bloody mary (or mix) is complete without fresh horseradish, too much can ruin the drink. If you like heat, there are ways to add it without having to spend ten minutes fishing horseradish chunks out of your teeth.
That said, for my taste Murph's mix could've been a little spicier, but I admit I'm nitpicking. It's much easier to add extra heat than it is to adjust overall flavor, and The Murph's Famous has it just about right when it comes to taste. So if you want to spice up your bloody mary, just pour in a little T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili Pepper Sauce (or those other guys if you must) and you'll be good to go. Not to mention, The Murph always has the option of adding a hot 'n' spicy version to his lineup. (Hey, come to think of it, I think The Murph's "Extra Stiff" Bloody Mary Mix has a nice ring to it!)
All this bloody mary talk makes me want to blow through a 12-pack tonight so I have a good excuse to make one of Murph's slutty, non-virgin bloody marys tomorrow morning. That's right, I haven't even used it in a drink yet -- that's how confident I am in this mix. I highly recommend it, especially for the bloody mary enthusiast who's looking for a great new product, or even the skilled mixologist who wants an all-in-one, no hassle bloody mary mix that rivals his scratch recipe when he's finally kicking back at home.
If you'd like to order The Murph's Famous Bloody Mary Mix, you can get it at Murph's website or save a couple bucks by picking up a bottle at Peppers, which is running an in-store special at $4.99 a bottle (or order here online).
Comments