Bloody Mary and variations are crowd pleasers
Mix up Bloody Marys, or one of the many variations, for Halloween. The traditional brunch cocktail is a crowd pleaser, even after dark.
By JANET K. KEELER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 25, 2006
The standard Bloody Mary is mostly tomato juice spiked with Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, an ample squeeze of lemon, a shake of celery salt, and, most definitively, vodka. (Or Absolut Peppar for more zing with the zow.) A leafy stalk of celery provides slurpy crunch and the appearance of nutrition.
The first Bloody Mary wasn't nearly as festive. Cocktail lore has it that a bartender at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in the 1920s paired tomato juice and vodka for a customer wanting a new taste treat. A decade later, he moved to the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel in New York and, while he was welcomed, the bland Bloody Mary was not. Turn up the heat, New Yorkers said, and he did, adding hot sauce and black pepper.
Bloody Mary, supposedly named after the Bucket of Blood club in Chicago and a favorite barfly named Mary, became the Red Snapper when it crossed the ocean. It kept that name for a decade and then returned to its roots. (Today, a Red Snapper is just a Bloody Mary with gin instead of vodka.)
The story would be much more sinister if the vermilion cocktail were named after Queen Mary 1, who wickedly ordered 300 people burned at the stake during her five-year reign. Mean old Bloody Mary, perfect for Halloween.
Party game alert: Many a teenage girl has been entertained at a sleepover by looking into a mirror, chanting "Bloody Mary" over and over in hopes of conjuring a ghost. The adult version would include a swig every time the ghost appears (or each time it doesn't?).
That's hot
Tabasco, or another hot sauce, is what usually gives Bloody Mary her feisty demeanor. I like to use chipotle Tabasco for a smoky note.
Some recipes call for horseradish, and you can even use wasabi or a shake of cayenne pepper for your stroke of heat.
Start with small amounts. Heat can always be added, but not taken away without adding more tomato juice. Adding more vodka will only increase the likelihood of headache.
Crunch factor
Celery is the common swizzle stick, but there are other snappy garnishes out there. Anything pickled (but probably not a sour dill) offers interesting visual and flavor touches. Consider pickled green beans, carrots sticks, asparagus spears, okra and even a skewer of olives. Some even come packed in their own spicy brine.
Don't forget fresh cucumber slices or cherry tomatoes.
The mix
You can buy Bloody Mary mix - there are several on the market - but making your own formula lets you control the ingredients. Prepared mixes can have an artificial aftertaste, something you don't have to worry about when you devise your own.
A lemon squeeze, a horseradish dollop; the eye of newt is up to you.
Trick or treat, Bloody Mary is at the door. Better have the ice ready.
Janet K. Keeler can be reached at (727) 893-8586 or jkeeler@sptimes.com.
Bloody Mary
1 1/2 ounces vodka
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Tabasco to taste
1 celery stick for garnish
1 lemon wedge for garnish
- Combine the vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, 1 cup ice cubes and salt and pepper to taste.
- Shake the mixture well, and strain it into a tall glass filled with ice cubes.
- Garnish the Bloody Mary with the celery stick and the lemon wedge.
Bloody Mary Punch
Ice ring:
Small cherry tomatoes
Mint sprigs
Punch:
1 42-ounce container tomato juice, chilled
1 1/2 cups vodka
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Tabasco garlic pepper sauce
1 liter seltzer water, chilled
- Fill a 6-cup ring mold with water halfway up the side; freeze about 2 hours.
- Arrange cherry tomatoes and mint sprigs in small clusters on ice in ring mold; add enough water to fill. Freeze until firm.
- Combine tomato juice, vodka, horseradish, lemon juice and Tabasco sauce in a large punch bowl.
- Just before serving, add seltzer and unmolded ice ring.
Makes 8 servings.
Source: Tabasco
Wasabi Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary Punch
1/2 fresh lime juice
4 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder
6 cups low-salt V8 Juice
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons hot sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups vodka
- Combine lime juice and wasabi with a whisk, until wasabi dissolves.
- Pour into a pitcher, and add veggie juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and salt. Chill.
- Stir in vodka and serve over ice, with a stalk of celery or pickled asparagus.
Bloody Mary Jolly Style
1/2 glass hot and spicy V8 juice
1/2 glass Clamato
1 pinch horseradish
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 dash Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon olive juice
1 pinch celery salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 1/2 ounces vodka
- Combine ingredients in a glass and stir.
- Garnish with a lemon or lime wedge, chunk of cheese and an olive.
Bloody Mary Mix
1 quart tomato juice
6 ounces Worcestershire sauce
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon dried dill, or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup grated fresh horseradish
- In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend for 1 minute. Use as needed.
- The mix will last for up to 2 days, covered and refrigerated.
Bloody Mary Mix
Bloody Mary's cousins
Vodka is the spirit of choice in a Bloody Mary, but ingenious bartenders have found ways to change the cocktail's personality by using other alcohols and mixers.
Here are some variations on the theme:
- A boozeless Bloody Mary is called "Virgin Mary," a "Bloody Shame" or a "Bloody Virgin"
- Gin - "Red Snapper"
- Tequila - "Bloody Maria"
- Sake - "Bloody Geisha"
- Beef bouillon instead of tomato juice - "Bullshot"
- Clamato instead of tomato juice - "Bloody Caesar" or "Clammy Mary"
- V8 instead of tomato juice - "Bloody Eight" or "Eight Ball"