Bloody Mary: Iconic Brunch Cocktail
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Discover the pleasures of drinking a Bloody Mary at home. Easy to craft despite its laundry list of ingredients, the iconic brunch cocktail’s zesty flavors will make your taste buds sing with delight.
While we can’t remember where we started drinking Bloody Mary cocktails (or bloodies for short), we certainly remember drinking them in cities like Amsterdam, New Orleans and New York. We even remember a massive Bloody Mary bar at a Las Vegas casino that had all the usual accoutrements and more. And, now that we’re drinking them at home, we can add Lisbon to the list. Not ironically, all of these cities excel at the most popular meal of the week: brunch.
Since we love the brunch concept as much as we love tomatoes, it’s no surprise that we love the Bloody Mary cocktail. To be honest, we don’t know why it took us so long to craft our first Bloody Mary at home. Perhaps it was the cocktail’s relatively long ingredient list. Or maybe it was because Bloody Mary mix is so accessible. However, now that we know how easy it is to make Bloody Marys from scratch, the savory red cocktail is a permanent part of our brunch repertoire.
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What Is a Bloody Mary?
Essentially, the Bloody Mary is a classic cocktail that’s crafted with vodka and tomato juice plus a laundry list of ingredients that includes celery salt, hot sauce, horseradish, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce plus a celery garnish. It’s salty, sour, spicy and tangy with a touch of umami thrown in for balance.
Fun Fact
Some people consider the Bloody Mary to be a hangover cure since one of its primary ingredients, tomato juice, contains electrolytes plus a range of vitamins. However, it’s probable that vodka, another key ingredient, negates those nutrients’ benefits.
A star player on most brunch menus, the Bloody Mary is served at bars and lounges around the world as well as on airplanes. Yes, this is a cocktail that can be sipped regardless of the time of day, time zone or altitude.
History of the Bloody Mary
Despite being the original Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Tudor didn’t invent or drink Bloody Mary cocktails in England during her 16th-century reign. How could she have? The beverage didn’t make its debut until four centuries later. Plus, since tomatoes had only recently been ‘discovered’ in the Americas, they weren’t yet popular in Europe.
Although it’s clear that the historical Queen Mary didn’t invent the Bloody Mary cocktail, it’s less clear as to who deserves the honor. One candidate is Fernand Petiot, a French bartender who worked at both the New York Bar in Paris and the St. Regis in NYC. Another is the American actor George Jessel. Most likely, it wasn’t just one person but several who contributed to the modern Bloody Mary recipe.
Fun Fact
There’s no debate as to who invented the most popular Bloody Mary mix. That auspicious honor goes to Herb and June Taylor, i.e., Mr. and Mrs. T.
Ingredients
Unlike most classic cocktails, the Bloody Mary recipe requires a range of ingredients. Here’s the full list:
Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.
While you can improvise with many of the Bloody Mary’s ingredients, especially the garnishes, a Bloody Mary isn’t a Bloody Mary without vodka. We recommend using your favorite vodka for this recipe. We like Absolut Vodka but any moderately priced vodka brand will work just fine.
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How to Craft a Bloody Mary Cocktail
Once you assemble the ingredients and bar tools, the first step is to create a celery salt rim. To do this, simply run a lemon wedge around a highball glass and then dip the glass into celery salt. Swirl the glass until the rim is evenly coated. Set the coated glass aside. It’s time to craft the cocktail.
Pro Tip
Cut a wedge off your lemon before you squeeze out the juice.
Measure the vodka and pour it directly into a Boston shaker. We use a Japanese jigger for this step to ensure an accurate measurement and minimize spillage.
Buy a Japanese jigger from Amazon if you need a jigger or want an inexpensive upgrade.
Immediately add the following ingredients to the shaker: chilled tomato juice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, hot sauce, celery salt, ground black pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
Pro Tip
While we use Tabasco in this recipe, you can use your favorite hot sauce instead.
Pour the ingredients back and forth between both sides of the Boston shaker. If you’re not using a Boston shaker, pour the ingredients back and forth between a standard shaker and a pint glass or between two pint glasses. Another option is to gently stir the ingredients with a bar spoon.
Buy a Boston Shaker from Amazon if you need a shaker or want an inexpensive upgrade.
Place a handful of ice into the salt-rimmed highball glass and then strain the combined ingredients into the glass.
Now it’s time to garnish the cocktail. We like to simply garnish our Bloody Mary cocktails with a celery rib and a couple of pimento-stuffed olives. Feel free to follow our example. Also feel free to raid your refrigerator for other garnishes like pepperoncini peppers, pearl olives and pickles.
Variations
Once you craft a classic Bloody Mary, you may be inspired to try one or more of the following Bloody Mary variations:
Discover 10 essential bar tools for the home mixologist.
Bloody Mary Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces vodka
- 4 ounces tomato juice (chilled)
- 1/4 ounce lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1/4 teaspoon horseradish
- 2 dashes Tabasco (or your favorite hot sauce)
- 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pinch black pepper (ground)
- 1 pinch celery salt (plus extra for the salt rim)
- 1 wedge lemon (for the salt rim)
- 1 rib celery (for garnish)
- 2 pimento-stuffed olives (for garnish)
- ice cubes
Equipment
Instructions
- Run a lemon wedge around the rim of a highball glass and then dip the glass into celery salt, swirling the glass until the rim is well coated. Set the glass aside to dry.
- Place vodka, tomato juice, horseradish, lemon juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and celery salt into half of a Boston shaker.
- Pour the ingredients back and forth between both sides of the Boston shaker. If you're not using a Boston shaker, pour the ingredients back and forth between a standard shaker and a pint glass or between two pint glasses. Another option is to gently stir the ingredients with a bar spoon.
- Fill the salt-rimmed highball glass with ice cubes and strain the mixed ingredients into the glass.
- Garnish with a celery rib and a couple of pimento-stuffed olives.
Notes
- You can use the same lemon for both the lemon juice and the lemon wedge.
- The best vodka for this recipe is the vodka you have at home. There’s no need to buy a special brand or bottle.
- Feel free to get creative with the garnishes. Options include pearl onions, pepperoncinis and pickles as well as proteins like bacon and shrimp.
Nutrition
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
A Bloody Mary is a classic brunch cocktail that’s crafted with vodka, tomato juice and a range of savory ingredients.
While the exact history of the Bloody Mary is a mystery, it was probably invented in New York City or Paris.
Vodka, Tomato Juice (chilled), Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed), Horseradish, Hot Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Celery Salt, Black Pepper (ground), Ice Cubes, Celery Rib (garnish) and Green Olives (garnish)
While a celery stick is practically mandatory, other potential Bloody Mary garnishes include the following: bacon, beef jerky, lemon wedge, lime wedge, olives, pearl onions, pepperoncini, pickled okra, pickles and shrimp. Some restaurants go further by garnishing their Bloody Marys with sliders, i.e. miniature burgers, but that’s kind of extreme.
Yes, you can make a Bloody Mary batch a day in advance. Be sure to refrigerate the batch until you’re ready to serve it.
The Bloody Mary is stirred, not shaken.
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