Blue Crab Bay Co. Sting Ray® Spicy Bloody Mary Mixer with Ocean Clam Juice Highly Recommended by Whom You Know-Bravo Pam Barefoot!
There is no need to tweak this perfectly spiced and flavored Bloody Mary mix.
Because it is perfect as is, the Sting Ray is an ideal addition to moveable feasts.
If you are a fan, there will be one or two establishments that stand out for their Bloody Marys. The Sting Ray Spicy Bloody Mary Mixer makes a drink that is as good as the best I've tasted.
The Sting Ray is so delicious, it should become a brunch staple.
The Sting Ray's attractive packaging makes a perfect gift for Bloody Mary aficionados.
The Sting Ray is the perfect gift for my foodie friends who like to offer Bloody Marys at the wonderful brunches they host.
It is clear to the taste that The Sting Ray is "all natural".
There is nothing like a good Bloody Mary with brunch on the weekend. After a long work week it really hits the spot! Blue Crab Bay Company's Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mix is the best way to enjoy brunch at home! Their Bloody Mary Mix contains tomato paste, clam juice, horseradish, and "special spices" which is the perfect blend for an excellent Bloody Mary! It even won The New York Times' blind taste test in 1997 out of eight popular Bloody Mary Mixers! I had friends over for Sunday brunch and the Bloody Mary's were a hit! They went so well with the omelette I made! What a delicious drink!
My Aunt Polly loved to serve her version of a Bloody Mary as an appetizer for Sunday dinners. With a tiny wedge of lemon, that little glass became my entry into the adult world, as I sipped my tomato rich juice (no vodka) with my linen napkin on my lap. Bloody Marys are served on many a menu, with and without vodka, with or without celery sticks, and everyone has their favorite recipe. In 1997, The New York Times featured Sting Ray as "the best in the tasting", and this is definitely one that takes the crown by leaps and bounds. Maybe it's the spices, or maybe it's the clam juice neatly tucked into this formula, but somehow it made its way into a version of "Linguine a la vongole" in my kitchen. Wow! Now I want to try it in my gazpacho.
When it comes to mixed drinks, enjoying a Bloody Mary doesn't usually top my list. When I saw this Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mix, I was very intrigued to try it out. I am always looking for a new drink to try. I was not disappointed with it at all. It was the best mixer of this kind I've tried. I even went on the website to see how best to mix this and it gave ideas how to use this mixer in your cooking. I can't wait to try this in chili. I bet it will be awesome.
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In June 1998 at the International Fancy Food Show in New York, Blue Crab Bay Co., a division of Bay Beyond Inc., received the Outstanding Beverage Award in the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade’s annual product competition. Blue Crab Bay’s winning beverage, a spicy Bloody Mary mixer named Sting Ray, has quite a history behind it.
Started in 1985 on Pamela Barefoot’s farmhouse kitchen table, Blue Crab Bay Co. offered a small variety of food products that reflected the local flavors of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The business had grown rapidly to $500,000 in annual sales. Even more rapidly, however, there were a decline in sales and a major loss. In 1993, Blue Crab Bay Co. was in trouble. Barefoot didn’t know where to turn for help. Realizing this may be her last chance to save her company, Barefoot decided it was time to develop her “dream” product. She spent the early months of 1994 mixing tomato paste, clam juice, horseradish, and “special spices” with hopes of creating a winner.
In June 1994, Blue Crab Bay Co. introduced Sting Ray® Spicy Bloody Mary Mixer with Ocean Clam Juice, and the company’s turnaround began. Sales in 1995 were up nearly 60 percent over those of 1993. Sting Ray® showed up in a scene of Steven Seagal’s “Under Siege 2.” Australia’s Vogue Magazine featured it as a new specialty item available “down under.” By December 1996, sales of the mixer alone were up 155 percent from the previous year, spurred on by orders from Crate & Barrel for its catalog and shops nationwide. For the first time, Blue Crab Bay’s annual sales topped $1 million.
In 1997, the New York Times featured Sting Ray as the “best in the tasting” in a blind taste test of eight popular Bloody Mary mixers. Sales continued to escalate, with 25 percent of gross sales attributable to the mixer. As a result of rapid growth (166 percent over a three-year period), in March 1998 Blue Crab Bay Co. was named to the Fantastic Fifty, a list of the fastest-growing companies in Virginia, sponsored by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Virginia Business Magazine. That same year, the company received the Blue Chip Enterprise Award from the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, Mass Mutual and Nation’s Business in recognition of its effectiveness in overcoming adversity.
In June 1999, Pamela Barefoot was named the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Virginia, and Virginia Business Magazine named Blue Crab Bay Co. Virginia’s Hottest National Brand.
Made here in the United States, the mixer, which comes in two 25 fl. oz. versions – an unadorned bottle or a bottle decorated with fishnet and nautical cord – as well as a 64-ounce “party” size, is all natural and great for cooking.
Retail price varies by version from $8.50 to $17.99.
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Blue Crab Bay Co.’s story
In 1984, Pamela Barefoot had a dream: to move to Virginia’s Eastern Shore and survive with her creativity. The rural coastal peninsula, bounded by the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, offered a blank canvas for entrepreneurial opportunity, inspiring Barefoot to start her own business. Driving around the back roads in 1985, she envisioned items such as spice blends for clam and crab, two seafood species prevalent in the Chesapeake.
On the table in her farmhouse kitchen, she mixed seasonings and dreamed of specialties that would embrace the flavors of the region. That canvas began filling with all sorts of possibilities, including the creation of local jobs, raising awareness of the region’s natural resources, and getting her new homeland on the map. Not long after she began, she rented space above a waterfront restaurant and immediately experienced a devastating fire. She moved her fledgling business back home. Then Hurricane Gloria hit, causing significant damage.
Undaunted by the setbacks, Barefoot became more intent on realizing her vision. In 1986, she entered a contest in a national women’s magazine and wrote: “I envision someday having a multi-faceted operation … including mail order, wholesale regional foods, corporate gifts, and a retail shop.” Her entry netted an award of $7,500 and major national publicity.
Business steadily increased, and like the blue crab of its logo, the company experienced several moltings. Barefoot’s hard work paid off. In 1999, she was named Virginia’s Small Business Person of the Year, and in 2003 the U.S. Small Business Administration tapped her as one of the nation’s Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs.
Today, her Bay Beyond Inc., a Virginia certified Small, Women & Minority Owned business enterprise, markets the Blue Crab Bay Co.® brand, which features award-winners such as Sting Ray® Bloody Mary Mixer with Ocean Clam Juice; coastal themed snacks such as Barnacles® and Dune Buggies®; seasonings; seafood dip kits; and fishnet-wrapped gift packs. Product expansions include Blue Crab Bay Co. Stoneware by Dovis Designs©, which includes kitchenware, dinnerware, and serveware with a striking hand-painted blue crab motif; Bay Beyond® gourmet shelf-stable imported crabmeat; and Inner Ocean® nautical glycerin soaps, handmade with seaweed harvested from the Shore’s pristine marshes.
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