Taste a piece of history with this Richmond museum’s new ‘Meat Juice’ bloody mary mix

Valentine's Meat Juice Bloody Mary Mix (Photo: Meredith Mason, The Valentine)

by: Kassidy Hammond

Posted: Nov 9, 2022 / 11:42 AM EST

Updated: Nov 9, 2022 / 11:44 AM EST

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Valentine is a Richmond museum dedicated to collecting, interpreting and preserving the city's history. Sometimes, that means holding exhibitions on local history, other times, it means creating a cocktail mixer reminiscent of a supposed cure-all mixture taken by a former president after an assassination attempt.

Valentine's Meat Juice Bloody Mary Mix was first imagined in 1870 as a cure for the museum founder's sick wife, at which point Mann S. Valentine II created "a medicinal meat extract made of slowly cooked beef, which he then pressed into a juice and mixed with egg whites," according to the museum. When his wife recovered, Mann patented his recipe.

According to the museum, the meat-juice was popular as a dietary supplement and a flavoring, and became even more so when President James A. Garfield ingested the drink daily following an 1881 assassination attempt.

Profits gained from the meat-juice's success even helped to fund the Valentine museum.

Fast forward to 2022, and Valentine's Meat-Juice was reborn as Valentine's Meat Juice Bloody Mary Mix. The spicy cocktail mix will be available for purchase for $6.50 per bottle at a ticketed launch party at the museum on Nov. 17 from 5 to 7 p.m.

"If it weren't for the popularity of Valentine's Meat-Juice, the museum may not have had the start-up funds it needed," said museum Director Bill Martin. "With our new Bloody Mary Mix, we’re continuing to tell this uniquely Richmond story by using all local vendors to create a new product by and for Richmonders. This idea has been in the works for many years, and we’re excited to finally be able to share it with our community."

If you can't make it to the launch, the mix will be available at the museum's gift shop until all the bottles are sold.

Valentine's Meat Juice Bloody Mary Mix launch party