Being old and boring, I stayed in last night so I didn't really need a bloody mary. But it is new year's day so what the hell. Like the martini, the bloody mary is a perfect drink if made properly. My version has a slight regional variation as I add the classic mid-atlantic staple of Old Bay. I know it's widely available because I used to buy it in the middle west when I was in college. Rock Chalk Jayhawk.I've varied the recipe over the years. I used to add Clamato to it but that grossed out my wife too much so I'm back to V8. If you do use Clamato, I recommend that you mix with tomato juice and not V8.
Fill a 12 oz glass with 10 oz of V8.
Add lemon juice
Worcester sauce
a tsp of Old Bay
fresh ground pepper
a tsp of prepared horseradish (not sauce)
a few dashes of whatever hot sauce you have. I use Valentina.
Stir it up.
Fill a pint glass with ice and pour in 2 oz of decent vodka. I use Smirnoff. No need for top shelf here.
Add the bloody mary mix, stir and garnish with a lemon wedge and celery stalk.
If you're from the mid-atlantic and like Old Bay, rim the glass with it like salt on a margarita glass.
Repeat as necessary.
Peace.
I thought this was a food blog? You know, not all us dads drink.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a dad so I hope you'll forgive my intrusion -- but the addition of Old Bay to a Bloody Mary sounds fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI love Tabasco brand Bloody Mary mix. If you buy the spicy, it's got so much horseradish floating in it that the bottle looks like a snow globe.
With that as my base, I pretty much do everything you said, though I sometimes also throw in a little olive brine. What can I say, I like salt.
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interest. The olive brine addition is a new one. I used to be a Clamato adherant, sometimes with a 50/50 ratio but have pulled back from that as it doesn't sit well with my middle west raised spouse.
I was just in NYC and noticed a billboard on 7th Ave at 29th St for Old Bay. For some reason though, the were putting it on shrimp. Yankees.
If you like Old Bay try rimmimg the glass with ala margarita-style.