Sipping the Ghost of Mary

By Ashleigh Went.

Asparagus, tomato, jalapenos, pancetta… probably not ingredients that spring to mind when talking cocktails. Then again, there’s nothing typical about Lucky’s Speakeasy or the ‘Ghost of Mary’ – our sexy take on the traditional Bloody Mary.

Legend has it that the Bloody Mary was first created in the early 1920s, in a Parisian establishment called Harry’s Bar by a bartender named Fernand Petiot. At the time, Russian expatriates were flocking to Paris, bringing vodka and caviar. Petiot blended vodka with thick tomato juice, which was on trend in America, and voila! The Bloody Mary was born. Or rather, an incarnation – the drink was allegedly called a ‘Bucket of Blood’ until it became popular in America, where it was renamed after Queen Mary I, for her bloody reign over Protestants. How bloody interesting.

Our Ghost of Mary is a little less on the morbid side, named for the smoky clarity of the tomato consommé. To make our fiery Ghost, we take vodka infused with pancetta and jalapeno and add our consommé, a few dashes of celery bitters and give it a shake. Then, we strain it into martini glasses rimmed with bacon salt and sex it up with a chilli pickled asparagus.

What’s so sexy about asparagus you ask? Well, it could be its status as a potent aphrodisiac or its phallic resemblance (oh my!), either way asparagus has long held the stigma of being associated with erotic overtones… settle down.

A Ghost of Mary is the perfect drink to kick your heels up with after a long day at work, or a savoury way to ease into some hard spirits. If you’re in the mood for something extra spicy, order a bowl of our Padron de Pepper Poppers with spiced cheese filling and citrus yogurt dip, or offset the heat with our Spuds: shoestring fries and steak fries and melted Kasseri “Greek” cheese.