This post was originally published on March 2, 2015.
Beatrice & Woodsley… a restaurant inspired by love and full of love. A friend and I dined there on Saturday, my favorite day of the week, and were in awe when we were seated at an intimate table below camping-style lanterns in the midst of faux Aspen trees. We melted into the comfortable booth seats that fill the entire restaurant and radiated in the restaurant’s soft glow. I felt like I was in a woodland fairy tale, entranced by the subtle softness and romanticism of the whole place. Beatrice & Woodsley has been rated one of America’s Best Restaurants by Zagat and has received good press from a plethora of other magazines.
On the restaurant’s website, the story of Beatrice & Woodsley, two lovers, is as follows…
"Beatrice, the life-loving daughter of a French wine making family who relocated to California in the 1800s to create a small vineyard. And Woodsley, the handsome and crafty son of Lumberjacks-turned-Coopers who provided barrels for the fledgling wine producers. Upon first sight, Beatrice & Woodsley fell in love and quickly married. Stirred by his new bride, Woodsley built a remote cabin amid the woods of the Colorado Mountains. Built with skilled and loving hands, Woodsley constructed a strong abode complete with the day’s amenities and a large wine cellar between the roots of the aspens…. Life was lived with appreciation amongst the forest birdsong, and the snow-capped peaks… happily ever after."
I love true love, and to be in love in the Colorado aspen groves is a feeling like none other.
I had a Bloody Mary to start (obviously), to cure my hangover.. or, maybe at this point, to continue my drinking from the evening before so I didn’t crash. Beatrice & Woodsley’s Bloody Mary looked simple from my reading of the menu, but also had an interesting addition of “Southern Treatment”… As we looked through the rest of the menu, we were torn between many dishes. We settled on the crawfish beignets for an appetizer, which were nice and sweet with a touch of savory from the crawfish and red pepper aioli. For my entree, I ordered the Hoo-Weee Hot Brown, which is smoked turkey, onion, and tomato atop a slice of bread and covered with crawfish and sausage fondue and an egg over-easy. My entree was DELICIOUS and flavorful– especially the fondue– and, in some ways, evoked a modern twist on an eggs benedict. It was heavy, but I knew what I was getting myself into.
Another cool thing about Beatrice & Woodsley? The bathroom sink. The faucet is made of silver cords that hang from the ceiling; you must pull one of the cords to turn the water on and the other to turn the water off. I was quite confused at first on how to work the faucet, but now I believe I have found my “dream” sink 🙂
Anyways, we are here to talk about Bloody Marys, so below you will find my review of Beatrice & Woodsley’s Bloody Mary.
AT A GLANCE 17/20
Beatrice & Woodsley’s Bloody Mary looked quite simple, but inviting, at the first glance. It was a clean and classy presentation created by a classy place. The garnish solely consisted of pickled okra and a slice of lemon and the glass was rimmed with a cayenne pepper and salt mixture. This is the only point I saw lacking with the Bloody Mary– just a pickled okra and a lemon slice? This aspect could be done better. On the contrary, you could tell spices were abundant throughout the cocktail. A deep red hue also added to the elegant presentation.
GARNISH 14/20
As mentioned before, the garnish was quite simple and consisted of pickled okra and a lemon slice. Although quite basic and lacking creativity, the garnish ingredients were presented well. Usually, I feel when lemon is included in a Bloody Mary garnish, it is placed either on the cocktail pick or wedged onto the rim of the glass. At Beatrice & Woodsley, they placed the slice into the actual drink, which adds to the attractiveness of the garnish. The pickled okra tasted good, while the cayenne pepper and salt on the rim of the glass was a nice addition to each sip of the cocktail.
SPICE 20/20
Beatrice & Woodsley’s Bloody Mary had a wonderful spicy taste. Spices were used generously and the tangy aftertaste left me wondering if this could be what the “Southern Treatment” in the menu’s description meant. The spices were complex, yet evoked the traditional Bloody Mary taste we all look for. There was a lot of black pepper and celery seed used– Yum! As you may know from my past reviews, I am always a fan of Bloody Marys that toss a lot of these spices in.
TEXTURE & ACIDITY 20/20
The texture of Beatrice & Woodsley’s Bloody Mary was on point and represented the true middle ground between thick and diluted. The Bloody Mary was very filling, which could be attributed to the “perfect” texture. Although quite spicy, the Bloody Mary was not acidic at all and was very refreshing.
UNIQUENESS 15/20
Creativity is awarded to Beatrice & Woodsley’s Bloody Mary because of its complexity in flavors and ability to be so fulfilling as a cocktail. The spicy, yet tangy, flavors made for a unique drink that was quite savory. Beatrice & Woodsley’s Bloody Mary was lacking creativity within the garnish, although the drink did have that “Southern touch” with the pickled okra and spicy rim on the glass. I did enjoy how classic the Bloody Mary was and felt it truly fit in with the ambiance and story behind Beatrice & Woodsley, but more could be done to differentiate it from “all of the other Bloody Marys.”
FINAL SCORE 86/100
Check out Beatrice & Woodsley here. Beatrice & Woodlsey is located at:
38 South Broadway, Denver, CO, 80209