Serious Heat: Bloody Mary Love
Bloody Marys are one of those things that, like cilantro, inspire pure love or massive hatred. At Chile Pepper, we're split right down the middle. Personally, I think a Bloody Mary must include a strong hit of horseradish, celery salt, a sprinkle of lemon zest and, of course, a celery stalk. What's a must-have for you?
As alcohol folklore goes, it was the sophisticated palates of New Yorkers who thought the Bloody Mary was bland when it debuted at the St. Regis Hotel's King Cole Bar in Manhattan in 1934. An American bartender, Fernand "Pete" Petiot, who had mixed equal parts of tomato juice and vodka while working at Harry's New York Bar in Paris during the 1920s, created today's traditional libation by adding a of kick black pepper, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and a splash of Tabasco.
We can be as adventurous as Pete was back in the day by adding different herbs, spices, juices and garnishes to a Blood Mary. Try adding a tablespoon or two of barbecue sauce, or riff on the Orange Julius drink by blending it with ice and adding milk or cream. Why not swap the vodka and make a cousin of the Bloody Mary, adding Irish whiskey for a Bloody Molly or Guinness for a Bloody Maureen. Tomato juice lends itself to versatility and experimentation, so your imagination is the limit.
Ingredient Ideas:
Tomato juice or vegetable juice such as V8
Vodka, plain, citron or pepper
Freshly grated horseradish or wasabi
Grated onion
Garlic (fresh or powdered)
Lemon or lime juice
Mustard
Celery salt or Old Bay Seasoning
Sea salt or kosher salt
Black pepper or crushed Sichuan peppercorns
Red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
Dill
Rosemary
Tobasco sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Vinegar
Brown sugar
Substitutions for tomato juice or combine with tomato juice:
Beef consommé or boullion
Clamato
Barbecue sauce
Various alcohols (to create versions of Bloody Mary drinks)
Garnish:
Shrimp
Celery stalks
Fresh lemon wedges
Olives (plain or stuffed with garlic, jalapeno or blue cheese)
Jalapeño pepper
Caperberries
Pickled onions
Pickles or cornichons
Mushrooms
Pickled vegetables (we're partial to Rick's Picks)
Pepperoncini
Article by Amie Smith. Photography by Bill Milne.
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20 Comments:
try mezcal instead of vodka - smoky deliciousness
travers at 11:12AM on 04/30/09
Horseradish, celery salt, tabasco. As garnishes, I'm partial to pickled asparagus and blue cheese stuffed olives.
shoneyjoe at 11:12AM on 04/30/09
Lots of horseradish and salt, lemon juice, celery stalk, Old Bay, garlic optional. I like it with V8. Shrimp garnish sounds terrific.
bylinemjf at 11:25AM on 04/30/09
I want one right now!
sammie at 11:25AM on 04/30/09
my favorite is jalepeno infused vokda, sriracha and cayenne pepper rim, with a garnish of bacon. yummmm
laurmac at 11:27AM on 04/30/09
I actually take mine with gin instead of vodka - it has a specific name...
Oh, and lots of celery salt.
BangieB at 11:30AM on 04/30/09
Husband and I are partial to the V8, plain vodka, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, Tobasco sauce, lemon juice, and olive juice combo. Yum! Pretty traditional, minus the olive juice, but delish. And he'll have his with a pickle, please.
ElspethAdair at 11:41AM on 04/30/09
A friend turned me onto the best ingredient: cilantro. I never want a bloody mary with it.
kurteye at 11:55AM on 04/30/09
Er...without it.
kurteye at 11:57AM on 04/30/09
The best Bloody Mary, recipe is made glass by glass I will give you the ingredients just adjust them as needed to your palette, but these components produce the best I promise:
VA - regular!
Good Vodka, but shitty vodka works too
Ice Cubes
Worstechire
Tabasco
Horseradish
Lemon
Black pepper
Celery stalk(s)
That's it! Don't try and re-invent the wheel baby!
Timothyrows at 12:14PM on 04/30/09
@laurmac that sounds pretty incredible
Timothyrows at 12:15PM on 04/30/09
Fun idea-
Set out a build-your-own bloody mary bar at your next brunch. It always wows the group and is easy to do. You just have to gather, assemble and display. Then, let them at it.
CJ McD at 12:47PM on 04/30/09
My mouth is WATERING.
I am Canadian, and so Clamato is the order of the day. A bloody mary is fine, but a Caesar (all the same, except Clamato in place of Tomato) is a different level all together.
I am partial to a celery salt and lemon juice rim, a slender stalk of celery, a giant wedge of lemon and perhaps...a spicy pickled green bean.
That's all dressing to the main event. Vodka, lemon juice, hot sauce (something more inspired than tabasco), Clamato, horseradish, several good cranks of black pepper, and...wait for it. a clove or two of roasted garlic...mashed into a paste and shaken to incorporate with the other ingredients. It's a rounder flavour and brings a kind of earthy sweetness. Yum!
A pox on those bars who serve clamato from a soda gun like so much crappy cola. It's not the same!
BananaMonkey at 1:08PM on 04/30/09
ooooh...I forgot the dram of wooster.
BananaMonkey at 1:15PM on 04/30/09
Clamato(R), shrimp garnish, and rim with Old Bay (as you would salt for a margarita)
Lorenzo at 1:47PM on 04/30/09
bylinemjf: You can mix my Bloody Mary anytime. Just be sure to add a lot of extra lemon. I like mine SHARP!
kurteye: Cilantro! Now were talking!, as well
As for garnishes: The shrimp sounds great, and the jalapeno, too. As does anything pickled or brined. Celery or other vegetables are fine. Whatever. Just skewer 'em up, and slide that baby over here! But, if I am actually hung over (a rarity) I probably want mine sans garni, except for a wedge of lemon.
Cheers,
~ Paula
Paula Maack at 2:28PM on 04/30/09
Superbowl Sunday we made some bloody marys with All Spice Cafe Cayenne Habanero XXX sauce - everyone there said it was the best bloody mary they've had! Not a big bloody mary fan myself, i was ready for several more!
Check the sauce out at www.allspicecafe.com.
jdcowles at 5:49PM on 04/30/09
I'll tell you what's a must-not -- pickle spears. I got a bloody mary in St. Louis that, I swear to god, had a frickin' pickle spear in it. VERY NO.
That said, my beloved Millstream in St. Charles makes a fantastic bloody mary with their own homemade peppers-and-garlic-vodka (they keep the ginormous jars full of piquant veggies and vodka over the bar), and they garnish with olives and pickled green beans. Awesomesauce.
I'm also strongly in favor of a celery stalk in my Bloody Mary. In my opinion, if it doesn't look like someone spilled a salad in my drink, it's not a Bloody Mary.
onalark at 8:15PM on 04/30/09
When I lived in London, we got Bloody Marys one night when out with friends. We really liked them and asked the bartender for his secret. He said that to the tomato juice and vodka he added Worcestershire sauce, tabasco and horseradish in a very precise measure: "Two doinks, a boop and a splat". While, I haven't been able to entirely prepare it the same way at home, his description has always stuck with me!
Amandarama at 12:08PM on 05/01/09
Worcestershire and tabasco (along with what you already named). I usually add a bit of lime juice as well. The celery stalk is good to help cool down the heat of the tabasco. ;-)
annaraven at 10:12PM on 05/26/09