Back in 1989, I was bartending at The New Orleans Café in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. I insisted on serving only freshly prepared Bloody Marys, but this one drink proved to be a straight-up nightmare. Nobody would follow the recipe, the bottled mixes were expensive, and they sucked, but making them fresh was a far more difficult than anyone wanted it to be.

‌In the interest of consistency, I was dubbed “the Bloody Mary guy” by my staff, and I was the person that made the batches of Bloody Mary mix in advance. Problem was, either I’d make too much and it would spoil, or I didn’t make enough and we’d run out. Which is exactly what happened the day my life changed.

The New Orleans was close to the Seahawks stadium, and on this particular game day morning, we were jam packed with football fans when we ran out of Bloody Mary mix. I was too busy to make another batch, and as a result, went from selling $9 Bloody Marys to $2 longnecks. Very upsetting. For everyone. After all the 12’s went to the game, I decided I was never going to run out of our famous Bloody Mary mix again. I mixed all my spices and seasonings in advance, so anyone could simply add everything to tomato juice in one step. Easy, consistent, fast but best of all, it was still my secret, customer-proven recipe. Perfect every time, in no time™.

‌Over the next few months, my neighborhood bartender-friends started requesting bottles of my Seasonings, and it was soon after that I started knocking on doors. It’s been over 30 years since then, I’m still knocking on doors, and I’m not stopping anytime soon. During the early stages of development, I threw a “taste-test party” (any excuse to have a party, really). After all the tasting and testing was done, one of my friends, Patrick, came inside with a bite of grilled steak on his fork for me to try. It was outstanding, and when I asked him “What the hell was THAT”? He proudly said, “I marinated my steak in some of your stuff”. So, it turns out that not only does Demitri’s make the most award-winning Bloody Marys on the planet, but it’s also a fantastic marinade and seasoning!

‌Today, you can find my Seasonings in hotels, golf courses, bowling alleys and bars throughout the US and parts of Canada that range from 5 Stars to Dive Bars. Call me anytime with your recipe ideas, suggestions or just to share a few stories.

Cheers!