The first claim is that was originally created by the bartender Fernand Petiot at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in the 1920s. 

It is said that the drink was first called “The Red Snapper” made with gin instead of vodka and later was made with vodka and called Bloody Mary.

The name origin is quite unsure, pointing to the Hollywood actress and producer Mary Pickford or to the Queen Mary Tudor of England.

Queen Mary was a huge supporter of the Catholic religion. She is best known for her vigorous attempt to reverse the English Reformation, which had begun during the reign of her father, Henry VIII. In the reinstitution of the Heresy Acts in 1553 many protestants were killed under the Marian Persecutions, the penalty for being found guilty of heresy was to be burnt at the stake. It´s believed over 280 people were killed under the Heresy Act and this gave Mary the unofficial title Queen “Bloody” Mary.