So I have one more rule for Bloody Mary perfection: use a really good vodka. If you’re anything like my companions at Abergavenny, you’ll notice the difference.Three robust reds Winemaker’s Lot Malbec 2005, Concha y Toro (£6.49, Oddbins) If Chile keeps making such smoky, plummy, deeply concentrated wines from Argentina’s signature grape variety, Argentina had better watch out.Plan P?u, C? du Rh?(£8.95, Lay & Wheeler, 0845 330 1855, www.laywheeler ) Declassified Ch?auneuf-du-Pape grapes from a fine producer, using a blend of vintages. Soft spice, ripe tannins, serious stuff.La Cuv?Mythique 2002 (£4.99 from £6.99 until 22 October, Co-op) Solidly reliable wine from the Languedoc, using a blend of mostly local varieties The discount price is a steal.. The modern high street is swamped with identical coffee chains. The results were: 30 preferred Reyka, nine preferred Sainsbury’s, and seven preferred Finlandia. While I believed Reyka to be the best of the bunch from my own tastings, I admit to some surprise – and a good deal of pleasure – at the overwhelming outcome.

The three were Sainsbury’s own-label (£7.49), Finlandia (£12.99), and the Icelandic Reyka (£15.99), about which I have written in these pages before. They represented, roughly speaking, the ordinary, premium and super-premium sectors of the vodka market.I made identical Big Tom Bloody Marys with all three vodkas and asked the audience to vote on their favourites in a blind tasting. This is strong on lemon, which is the way I like it, and I think you will too.But it’s important not to get fundamentalist about Bloody Marys. When I asked for a perfect recipe from Richard Hunt, the extravagantly gifted head bartender at the Player in London W1, he dismissed the notion “There are so many variations.

It depends on my mood, the time of day and year, and how bad my hangover is.” Wise words. The only truly essential rule is that the ratio of vodka to juice must be fairly high. Though some recipes give it as high as six parts juice to one part vodka, 2:1 is better and 3:1 is ideal.As a matter of principle and of pleasure, I always advocate making Bloody Marys from scratch. But one ready-made mix makes a fantastically good substitute, and that is Big Tom.