A Bloody Mary is a cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and usually other spices or flavorings such as Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, beef consomme or bouillon, horseradish, celery or celery salt, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice.

The origin of the Bloody Mary is somewhat disputed. One claim states that it was originally created by George Jessel around 1939. The New York Herald Tribune (December 2, 1939) printed what is believed to be the first reference to this drink, along with the original recipe: "George Jessel’s newest pick-me-up which is receiving attention from the town’s paragraphers is called a Bloody Mary: half tomato juice, half vodka."

Frenchman Fernand Petiot corroborates that George Jessel first created the drink and name, and that he (Petiot) merely added the spices to the plain vodka and tomato juice drink. From the New Yorker Magazine, July 1964:

“I initiated the Bloody Mary of today,” he told us. “George Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over. I cover the bottom of the shaker with four large dashes of salt, two dashes of black pepper, two dashes of cayenne pepper, and a layer of Worcestershire sauce; I then add a dash of lemon juice and some cracked ice, put in two ounces of vodka and two ounces of thick tomato juice, shake, strain, and pour. We serve a hundred to a hundred and fifty Bloody Marys a day here in the King Cole Room and in the other restaurants and the banquet rooms.”

http://www.cocktailtimes.com/vodka/bloodymary.shtml