Bloody Mary Cocktails

[beans]

Never will I forget how these most beloved of all Meal-Replacement Shakes™ were enhanced by the crisp pickled green beans a college chum added :yum: which doubled as stirrers if not consumed in a single bite following first sips.

Oh I LOOOVE those. That's how we made them when I worked in Alaska. Had to control myself from chowing down a whole jar of those. The ones that we bought for the bar were a little zippy hot too.

[Lan4Dawg]

beans, the Tabasco cook book has a receipt for pickled green beans that is phenomenal. E-mail me, lan4d@joimail.com, if interested & I will pass it along to you. I make them every couple of months & keep them in the fridge for bloody mary's, snacking purposes, relish trays, & the like.

[FoodZealot]

For being pre-made, the Mr & Mrs T Premium Blend Bloody Mary mix is tasty and appetizing. Maybe too thick for the purists, but for a lightweight like me, it's just fine. I heard a rumor that they developed it with the help of a culinary school?

Recently, a la the habanero vodka variation, I use a peppery tequila instead of vodka. Sort of in the same universe as a sangrita chaser, except its a cocktail. Is there an accepted name for this variation? Thanks.

~Tad

[Lan4Dawg]

bloody mary made w/ tequila has traditionally been known as a "bloody Maria".

[FoodZealot]

bloody mary made w/ tequila has traditionally been known as a "bloody Maria".

Thank you Lan4Dawg, but can Bloody Maria also refer to beer and bloody mary mix? Perhaps it's an imprecise term?

~Tad

[beans]

bloody mary made w/ tequila has traditionally been known as a "bloody Maria".

Thank you Lan4Dawg, but can Bloody Maria also refer to beer and bloody mary mix? Perhaps it's an imprecise term?

~Tad

Beer and Bloody Mary mix is a Red Eye.

Bloody Caeser is with a clam or clam juice.

Bloody Bull is with the addtion of a beef bullion cube.

Bloody Maria is made with tequila.

Cheers!

[FoodZealot]

Beer and Bloody Mary mix is a Red Eye.

Bloody Caeser is with a clam or clam juice.

Bloody Bull is with the addtion of a beef bullion cube.

Bloody Maria is made with tequila.

Cheers!

Thanks for the clarification! Much appreciated.

~Tad

[Stigand]

In the UK, Big Tom mix (Big Tom) is a good Bloody Mary fall-back if for some reason you don't have access to ingredients. It's sold in quite a lot of pubs and off-licences.

One other Bloody Mary tip. The worst Bloody Mary I ever made was when, as a student, I'd bought some Blavod, which was on a promotional offer. Tomato juice + dyed black vodka = drink that looks like toxic waste.

Edited August 15, 2003 by Stigand (log)

[woodburner]

I like to mix V8 with half Clamato Juice.

What's the best way to grate the fresh horseradish, without killing yourself and loved ones?

woodburner

[Mabelline]

If you are sensitive, I'd suggest a processor or one of those smaller grinder things. I use a hand grater, but then I'm crazy!

[ned]

Last year to the day for Easter brunch I got the pulping whizzo juicer out and ran through:

celery

tomatoes

garlic

shallots

walla walla sweet onions

horseradish

lemons

lemon zest

I added back some of the pulp, then fish sauce, worcester sauce, that vietnamese or thai hot sauce sirichua or something, vodka salt and pepper. Garnished with a talk o texas pickled okra.

[hillvalley]

There's a mix called Sting Ray from a company in Maryland that I liked when I could find it. It was on the expensive side, about $7 for a quart. Lots of horseradish and pretty spicy. I'd cut it down sometimes with regular tomato juice for people who didn't want it quite so hot. As for homemade I like some hot sauce, some horseradish, some fresh ground pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Add that celery stalk and you've got a meal in a glass.

It's all over the outlet malls that surround the MD/DE shorline

As for homemade, I rim the glass with Old Bay (seafood seasoning), and throw some into the mix. I have done a Bloody Sake using wasabi and soy sauce that was great.

I like to use Trader Joe's tomato-vegetable juice. It makes V8 look like skim milk. I also serve them with black olives, the combo goes very wel.

[Haggis man]

I agree with hillvalley, rim the glasswith old bay, stick a steamed shrimp on the glass. My mix has horseraddish and most of the indgredients you all listed. No mixes for me. try a couple of differnent hot sauses if you want "layered" heat.

[bleudauvergne]

I was thinking of serving Bloody Mary's for a brunch which will have the New Orleans theme. I got this recipe from a French book La Cuisine de Louisianne in which they also give some historical details which may or may not be correct. (I am not sure they did a whole lot of fact checking for this book due to some obvious misinformation in other parts of the book). Their recipes come from New Orleans Chefs. Here's what they said:

The drink is named after Mary I of Tudor, (1516-1558) Queen of England and Ireland who was nicknamed "Bloody Mary" due to her heavy handed tactics with the Protestants at the time. She married Phillipe II of Spain.

(they then list the ingredients on the bottle of the Worcestershire sauce and where to find it in France)

The recipe:

1/5 measure Worcestershire Sauce

Tabasco to taste (they say two drops but come on...)

1 Measure Vodka

2 Measures Tomato juice

the juice of 1/4 lime

ice cubes.

Put the ice cubes in a tumbler 1/2 and add the lime juice. Add the other ingredients and stir.

I tested this recipe just now, breaking this down to 1 T. W sauce to 1/3 cup Vodka and 2/3 cup tomato juice, and 1/2 a lime to get two modest sized Bloody Marys. I think the recipe is a good one.

[Bridgemo]

I have done a Bloody Sake using wasabi and soy sauce that was great.

I now regularly use wasabi, having first had a wasabi Bloody Mary in a hotel in India. Soy sauce sounds interesting as well - I can't wait to try it.

Another interesting way to incorporate that horseradish flavour is to use horseradish vodka. I was given a bottle of this at a party I gave a few weekends ago, but unfortunately it didn't survive the Saturday night so there was no opportunity to test it the next morning. London egulleteers might like to know it had been bought at Notting Hill farmers' market.

[Libationgoddess]

Tommy Rowles, my head bartender at Bemelmans Bar (for the last 47 years) makes a superb Bloody Mary mix. Nothing fancy; very straight-forward use of ingredients. One of his specialties was to simply pour the mix directly into a champagne flute (no vodka or gin), and top with champagne. It was savory, bubbly....sounds bizarre, but it is just delicious.

Audrey

[Bill Miller]

My hostess this weekend mixed a bottle of Mr. & Mrs. T. with a can of campbells beef broth, a can of vodka, juice of two limes, and a splash of Lee & Perrins---very good. It mixes perfecly in a large vodka bottle.

[johnder]

for me...

Peppar vodka, (or home-made)

Tomato juice

Worcestshire Sauce

Tabasco

Celery Salt

Lemon

Fresh Horseradish (otherwise Gold's Hot)

Garnish with a nice pickled string bean.

[stevea]

The December 2006 issue of Bon Appetit had an interesting recipe for gazpacho bloody mary that turned out quite nice. It used canned tomatoes, a cucumber, lemon juice, cilantro, prepared horseradish, worcestershire sauce, celery salt, and hot sauce. Blend until smooth and serve with vodka and ice. Quite tasty. The only thing I'd change next time is that I'd try to find low- or non-salt canned tomatoes. The celery salt seems to add enough.

[Bill Miller]

My hostess this weekend mixed a bottle of Mr. & Mrs. T. with a can of campbells beef broth, a can of vodka, juice of two limes, and a splash of Lee & Perrins---very good.  It mixes perfecly in a large vodka bottle.

←

Replying to myself one year later--perfection--one bottle Tabasco mild mix--add crystal hot sauce and worcestershire to taste--some celery salt, juice of two lemons--one can campbells beef broth--two cans vodka--combine and serve with pickled asparagus and celery spears. Add fresh ground pepper.

Edited December 19, 2006 by Bill Miller (log)

[Kent Wang]

I like Caesars. Fun things to add: Old Bay seasoning, sriracha, liquid smoke, oyster sauce.

[Libationgoddess]

Sounds weird, but, (utilizing your favorite Mary mix...sans spirit), prepare with (good quality) champagne the same way you would prepare a mimosa. A nice, savory alternative.

Audrey

[Gifted Gourmet]

Hold the Horseradish! from the Wall Street Journal .. link works for 7 days to nonsubscribers ...

I have never been particularly fond of Bloodies, because the drink, as practiced today, is rarely in balance. Sometimes you get a veritable salad of crudités stuffed into the glass. And almost always the drink is ruined by a heavy hand with the spice jars. The standard Bloody Mary seems to be a glass of Tabasco sauce tempered with horseradish.

Not only did the first full-blown Bloody Marys lack horseradish and celery, but they were served without ice. Since then, the drink has morphed into a pint-glass affair, usually with some six or eight ounces of tomato juice on the rocks, spiced within an inch of its life. Even the St. Regis now serves its Bloodies over ice, but it's worth trying the drink according to Petiot's specifications.

Edited March 3, 2007 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[KatieLoeb]

My Bloody mix is pretty straight forward.

Sacramento or V-8 juice

A BIG dollop of prepared horseradish

Several liberal dashes of Tabasco for heat, but not so much it turns vinegary

L & P Worcestershire

fresh lemon juice

Old Bay seasoning

powdered celery seed (I run it through the coffee grinder)

Kosher salt

Shake liberally and add vodka to dilute appropriately. Serve with a celery stalk if preferred, or a lime wedge and a few skewered olives.

[David Santucci]

Ah, so many memorable Bloody Mary's (and bloody whatever-else's). Here are a few that stand out:

At Agnes and Muriel's in Atlanta they have a 'Tangy Sake Bloody Mary' that is quite interesting. The secret ingredient -- pickle juice! They don't say it, but that's what it tasted like to me, and I was able to replicate it at home using the juice from a jar of bread and buttter pickles.

Down in Baja somewhere, I stumbled across a bar that served a Red Eye variation with Dos Equis Amber, Clamato, lime juice, hot sauce and fresh clams. We called it Clamonade and drank it all the time (without the fresh clams).

Up in Montreal everybody drinks Bloody Caesar's, the bars have Clamato in the gun and they tend to rim the glasses with sugar. I'm not a fan of this, BTW.

Used to get damn fine Bloody Mary's at the Kensington Club in San Diego, where they garnished 'em with pickled green beans.

Another all-time favorite was the Star Bar in downtown San Diego. They had the cheapest liquor in town (so cheap they charged a COVER on weekends). The prices were wrtiten on the bottles in marker. They also had the WORST bartenders in town. So, they put all the Mary ingredients on the bar and let you fix the godawful thing they served you.

One of the best Bloody Mary's I ever had was also one of the most humble. This was in one of the one or two bars in Silver Gate, Montana, just outside of Yellowstone National Park. The bartender was an old timer and mixed it up with nothing more than well vodka, tomato juice (or V-8, not sure), Tabasco and RealLemon. Ever since, I am a minimalist when I make 'em at home. I tend to use fresh lemon juice, squeeze in a lime wedge and drop it in, but other than that, my formula is the same.

Edited March 6, 2007 by David Santucci (log)