About Tommy's Bloody

For Tommy's Mom, it began in college...

I do not care for sweets... but anything salty is another matter. As well as anything pickled or brined.

I fell in love with bloody mary’s while attending the College of Charleson back in the 1980’s. I do not care for sweets… but anything salty is another matter. As well as anything pickled or brined. As an avid cook, I have a passion for making everything from scratch. So one day, instead of using the standard bloody mary mixers, I thought I would make my own.

 

 

And the rest they say is history.

I became the go to person for bloodys. People who said they didn’t like them had one of mine and were immediate converts. It’s what I am known for. 


The base of the bloody is the key – most mixes are very thick and have a mealy texture to them. I sought out to make the base thin and not so heavy. I started playing around in the kitchen. The base of the bloody is the key – most mixes are very thick and have a mealy texture to them. I sought out to make the base thin and not so heavy. I started playing around in the kitchen.

Once I developed the tomato base to my liking then I started experimenting with extra ingredients I thought would enhance the flavor. Of course there is the standard Worcestershire sauce, horseradish and celery salt but I wanted something more beachy tasting so I added clam juice. This added just the hint of ocean that I was looking for. Then I started adding more juices until I had what I thought was the perfect mix.

For Tommy, it all started from a hangover...

Towards the end of 2019, football season was in full swing, Thanksgiving was next week and Christmas was around the corner. As a cadet at the Citadel, I didn’t get a lot of time off. So, when I did, the other cadets and I made the best of it. Naturally. This one night in particular was the only chance we’d be able to attend a game not in uniform, so we were extra amped up. You can imagine the amount of drinking that took place.


I tried everything under the sun to kick my hangover. Breakfast. Pain relievers. Water. My hangover didn’t even budge. That’s when I decided to call home for advice. My mother answered the phone and gave me words that I would never forget. “The best way to detox is to retox.”

What did retox mean? She said “ Drink a bloody mary.” Now, to me, she might as well have told me to go kick rocks. I hated tomatoes. I didn’t even like ketchup, but she insisted. Coincidentally, there was a bloody mary bar where I was at. I went over and started mixing what what she told me. I gave it a shot. I tell you what – I had four of those suckers! By half time, I was shotgunning beers with the best of them. Best mom in the world!

Fast forward to the height of quarantine. A lot had happened since that November. The marine corps told me that I couldn’t be a pilot because I had asthma. Devastated, I started gearing up for the infantry side, and, with my dates pushed back because of the pandemic, I had too much time on my hands. I did everything to keep myself busy. I mowed lawns, painted my dad’s house and worked out.

Then, one day during a board game with my cousins, I thought about starting my own company. I kid you not, immediately after that thought, my mother slams a bloody mary in front of me.

I was getting the real deal.

The original recipe - made the right way.

Naturally, I saw the sign and knew this was the company to make. With my mother’s permission, I put together a logo, her recipe and a ton of hard work in very doubtful times. I sold my high school truck and got to work. Now we are in nearly 100 different restaurant and retail locations and are continuing to expand throughout the Lowcountry region.

For Tommy's Mom, it began in college...

I fell in love with bloody mary’s while attending the College of Charleston back in the 1980’s. I do not care for sweets… but anything salty is another matter. As well as anything pickled or brined. As an avid cook, I have a passion for making everything from scratch. So one day, instead of using the standard bloody mary mixers, I thought I would make my own.

And the rest they say is history.

I do not care for sweets... but anything salty is another matter. As well as anything pickled or brined.

I became the go to person for bloodys. People who said they didn’t like them had one of mine and were immediate converts. It’s what I am known for. 

The base of the bloody is the key – most mixes are very thick and have a mealy texture to them. I sought out to make the base thin and not so heavy. I started playing around in the kitchen. The base of the bloody is the key – most mixes are very thick and have a mealy texture to them. I sought out to make the base thin and not so heavy. I started playing around in the kitchen.

Once I developed the tomato base to my liking then I started experimenting with extra ingredients I thought would enhance the flavor. Of course there is the standard Worcestershire sauce, horseradish and celery salt but I wanted something more beachy tasting so I added clam juice. This added just the hint of ocean that I was looking for. Then I started adding more juices until I had what I thought was the perfect mix.

For Tommy, it all started from a hangover...

Towards the end of 2019, football season was in full swing, Thanksgiving was next week and Christmas was around the corner. As a cadet at the Citadel, I didn’t get a lot of time off. So, when I did, the other cadets and I made the best of it. Naturally. This one night in particular was the only chance we’d be able to attend a game not in uniform, so we were extra amped up. You can imagine the amount of drinking that took place.

I tried everything under the sun to kick my hangover. Breakfast. Pain relievers. Water. My hangover didn’t even budge. That’s when I decided to call home for advice. My mother answered the phone and gave me words that I would never forget. “The best way to detox is to retox.”

What did retox mean? She said “ Drink a bloody mary.” Now, to me, she might as well have told me to go kick rocks. I hated tomatoes. I didn’t even like ketchup, but she insisted. Coincidentally, there was a bloody mary bar where I was at. I went over and started mixing what what she told me. I gave it a shot. I tell you what – I had four of those suckers! By half time, I was shotgunning beers with the best of them.

Best mom in the world!

Fast forward to the height of quarantine. A lot had happened since that November. The marine corps told me that I couldn’t be a pilot because I had asthma. Devastated, I started gearing up for the infantry side, and, with my dates pushed back because of the pandemic, I had too much time on my hands. I did everything to keep myself busy. I mowed lawns, painted my dad’s house and worked out.

Then, one day during a board game with my cousins, I thought about starting my own company. I kid you not, immediately after that thought, my mother slams a bloody mary in front of me.

I was getting the real deal.

The original recipe - made the right way.

Naturally, I saw the sign and knew this was the company to make. With my mother’s permission, I put together a logo, her recipe and a ton of hard work in very doubtful times. I sold my high school truck and got to work. Now we are in nearly 100 different restaurant and retail locations and are continuing to expand throughout the Lowcountry region.