Bloody Mary

Forget the bells, whistles, and time-consuming garnishes. A classic Bloody Mary is all about balance.

Part pizza bagel, part Bloody Mary, with a Parmesan salt rim just for fun—this drink has it all.

This refreshing green brunch cocktail is made with cucumber, tart tomatillo, parsley, lemon, and green Tabasco. Feel free to use whatever vodka you have on hand.

Yellow tomatoes are sweeter than red, so this mix is big on heat and zing.

Pickled okra brine, where have you been all our lives!?

Grilling fresh tomatoes concentrates their flavor, making them super delicious in this Bloody Mary mix.

There are multiple stories around about who created the original bacon Bloody Mary. The battles about who was first or what drink is best have been contentious and slightly sordid. This version is a total bacon bust that includes bacon vodka, Bacon Salt™, and a bacon twist garnish. IT is so flavorful, you theoretically don't even need to add the booze—but in all honesty, the booze-less variety has yet to be tested. J&D's Bacon Salt is available online or at specialty food stores. If necessary, bacon flavored vodka, such as Bakon™ can be special ordered at your local liquor store.

Sorenson says this beer cocktail is "the best of both worlds: Bloody Mary meets Michelada. It gives so much, and asks for so little in return."

To make a traditional Bloody Mary cocktail, substitute ripe red tomatoes for the yellow ones.

While at first blush it may appear that this cheater pitcher was inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Creedence Clearwater Revival, the credit belongs entirely to bottled smoke. Rim the glasses with Cheater Basic Smoked Salt with celery seed (page 48) if you like.

The Bloody Mary is by far the most universally known pick-me-up. Legend has it that the Bloody Mary was born in Paris in or around 1921 at Harry’s New York Bar by a Frenchman, Fernand “Pete” Petiot. In those days, it consisted merely of a shot of vodka mixed with tomato juice and maybe a squeeze of lemon.

My friend Wendy makes the best Bloody Marys—full of punchy, spicy flavor. Serve them with little dishes of pickles as well as the usual cucumber and celery spears for fun mix-and-match garnishes.

The Bloody Mary is probably the most popular brunch cocktail in the United States and with good reason; spiced-up tomato juice and vodka garnished with a stalk of celery—the classic version—is a perfect weekend pick-me-up. There are many variations of the Bloody Mary that contain everything from beer to beef bouillon. My version has a southwestern theme, where roasted tomatillo sauce—spiked with vinegar and pickled horseradish—joins tomato juice to give the drink great body while adding a slightly tart, slightly smoky flavor.

Life is so important. There is something you really need to say. But the high voltage coil of iron-rich Alaea Hawaiian salt rimming the Bloody Mary glass at your finger draws you like an electromagnet. The first sip trips the circuit and sends the electrical charge through your body, electrifying your nervous system, vibrating your body, rebooting the brain stem. The surge of spicy tomato juice, tangy citrus, and vaporizing horseradish courses through you. A nibble at the turgid stalk of celery returns things to rights, but by now you are far away, refreshed, restored, forgetting what it was you wanted to say.

Nothing says brunch like a perfectly spiked Bloody Mary. Bubby’s Bloody Mary is famous for being a cure for hangovers. Mostly, it gives a spicy kick that will help you sweat it out. Using a sixteen-ounce glass leaves you plenty of room for the ice and garnish.

The quality of the ingredients makes all the difference in this drink, so use the absolutely best vodka and great olives.

Freezing Bloody Mary mix into ice cubes is a cool idea I picked up when I worked at Modern Spirits Vodka. As the ice cubes melt, their red color “bleeds” into the vodka, creating a dazzling drink that changes with every passing moment. Just know that the first few sips are going to be heavy on the booze since the cold, carmine cubes are just starting to thaw, so be sure to use top-shelf vodka.

Pat: It’s the last chapter of the book, right? Gina: It is. Pat: Our last chance to use barbecue sauce, right? Gina: Did we use it in the dessert chapter? Pat: I don’t think so. Gina: Well, okay, then. Neely’s Barbecue Sauce and your favorite spicy morning libation are a match made in heaven. Using robust vegetable juice like V8 (in place of tomato juice) helps balance out the flavor of the tangy sauce. To make a Virgin Mary, skip the vodka and add an extra squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice.