Name: Loaded Bloody Mary
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 cups vegetable juice (low sodium); 2 oz vodka; 1/2 lime, juiced; 1/4 cucumber, juiced; 2 tsp worcestershire sauce; 2 tsp hot sauce (sriracha, Frank's, whatever your hot sauce pleasure); 1/2 cup cold water; 1/4 tsp horseradish; 1/4 tsp garlic powder; 1/4 tsp onion powder; 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning; 1/2 tsp celery salt; 2 tsp olive juice; Lime wedge for rim; Celery salt and Old Bay Seasoning for rim; ALL OF THE GARNISHES; Ice

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Loaded with flavor and spice, a homemade Bloody Mary is the KING of the brunch cocktails and makes for a drool-worthy IG photo.

For the longest time, you couldn’t pay me to drink a Bloody Mary. Now, if I show up to a brunch spot and they don’t offer the Mary in some form, it’s a deal-breaker.

So this all started while we were living in Charleston about 3 years ago. Brad was shucking oysters at a local oyster bar called Pearlz (p.s. if you ever go to Charleston, SC it’s an absolute MUST go). The bartender had tried convincing me to try their Bloody Mary, because it was the best in town (nice sell line dude, haven’t heard that one a million times – insert eye roll). I persisted that I wasn’t a spicy-taste, tomato-juice-kinda-person, so he offered something else instead to get my tastebuds in the mood..an oyster shooter. What is an oyster shooter you might ask? Well, if enough ask, maybe they’ll get their on blog post. But, essentially, it’s a Bloody Mary in a shot glass with an oyster at the bottom.

Right now you may be cringing, and believe me, I was too, but it was in this moment that my life changed for the better…or at least my brunch palette. So, after spending a couple years in the city where, quite honestly, they do Bloody Mary’s best, here’s my take on it.

HOW TO BUILD A BLOODY MARY

If you’re looking for a little “hair of the dog”, as we like to call it in our house, this is the perfect concoction! A little salt, a little nutrients, and a little vodka to help perk you up.

The classic Bloody Mary has a base of tomato juice and vodka. After that, it’s all up to your imagination and tastebuds.

The first tip I can give, is to get all of your ingredients gathered up and in front of you. Otherwise it can get a little overwhelming! This will also help to speed things along.

If you’re just making single serve Bloody Mary’s, take a cocktail glass and line the rim with a lime wedge or water. Dip in a mixture of celery salt and Old Bay Seasoning and fill with ice. In another large glass, add all of the cocktail ingredients, stir well, and pour the mixture over the ice. Now for the good stuff…the garnishes!

Planning a big brunch at your place? Make a pitcher of Bloody Mary mix a day or two prior and store in an airtight container the fridge. Then whenever brunch is ready, lay out the ingredients in a nice display, give the pitcher a little stir, and set out some glasses filled with ice. Guests can grab a glass, fill with mix, and garnish to their liking. If you have some drinkers who don’t like the heat, make the mix without the sriracha and have that as a part of the garnishes.

Another tip I’ve learned: don’t fall for the flavored vodka gimmick! Cucumber or bacon-flavored vodka can be $5-10 more than regular vodka. That’s why I add a thick slice of seasoned bacon and a squeeze of cucumber to give it that meaty and refreshing taste the vodka companies try and reel you in on.

LOADED BLOODY MARY INGREDIENTS

This is where you can really go wild; or you can just empty your fridge of items that need used up! Since my Bloody Mary recipe has just a bit of a bite to it, I like to compliment that heat with refreshing, cool garnishes. I received some Bloody Mary cocktail “branches” for Christmas one year, so I’m not sure of the specific brand, but here is a pretty identical one. For this particular recipe, I used:

Celery
Olives (check your markets for stuffed olives; we use garlic, blue cheese, and jalapeño stuffed olives…game changer!)
Pickles
Lime wedges
Shrimp
Cucumber wedge
Pepperoncini
Roasted garlic

Before setting the Bloody Mary bar up, I fried some bacon for garnish using a blend of our go-to seasonings from Tacticalories, Adirondack Smoke BBQ and Carving House. Then for the shrimp, we drained the bacon grease (which there really wasn’t that much; we like our bacon meaty) and just cooked it up right in the bacon pan. For the roasted garlic, preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel as many cloves as you think you’ll need, toss them in olive oil, and spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with foil and stick in the oven for about 15 minutes. Uncover, turn up the heat to 400°F, and roast for another 5-10 minutes, watching carefully so they don’t burn.

Here are some other garnishes to try:

Okra
Asparagus
Cocktail onions
Lemon or lime wedge
Pickled cauliflower
Banana peppers
Asparagus
Prosciutto
Cheese cubes
Sandwich pepperoni
Really, pickled anything!

TOOLS I USED

Cocktail Shaker Set: This set from Target comes with a bar spoon, jigger, strainer and bottle opener, and a matching display stand for the accessories.