If you want to know how to make a Bloody Mary, I’ve got you covered! A little spicy and oh so savory with a refreshing tang, this is a grown-up recipe perfect for brunches! It can be made with or without alcohol.
Read on for some fun ideas for zany garnish options!
What’s In A Bloody Mary?
A Bloody Mary has a handful of ingredients but they aren’t hard to find!
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- Vegetable Juice Cocktail: My fave is spicy V8, but good ol’ tomato juice works too. (If you use clamato juice it becomes a Caesar cocktail).
- Alcohol: Vodka or substitute gin
- Spicy: Tabasco Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, and lemon juice
- Garnish: Celery Salt for the glass rim and a celery stalk and/or my favorite pickled beans for the garnish! Or go crazy with topping options!
What Kind of Vodka to Use: Honestly, any kind of vodka works in this bloody mary recipe. I most often use a regular vodka (Titos is what I frequently have on hand) but you can also buy flavored vodkas (like chili pepper) that would work well in this recipe too.
How To Make A Bloody Mary
While a Bloody Mary can be as fancy as you would like with the array of garnishes available, we like to keep it simple with 3 easy steps!
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- Moisten the rim of a highball glass and roll in celery salt if desired (I use a rimming salt for some extra zing).
- Combine all recipe ingredients in a cocktail shaker. (If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, just use a spill proof coffee mug, and shake with your finger over the sipper spout!)
- Top with ice, shake it up, and strain into the prepared glass.
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Tip: For frosted glasses place them in the freezer for 1/2 hour before preparing drinks!
The Best Bloody Mary Toppings
You can stick with the recipe below, or, feel free to go crazy with your own garnishes.
Bloody Mary insanity is the current trend (like this one I had with a burger on it), so don’t be shy, here’s where it can get really fun! Try creating a Bloody Mary cocktail bar, and let your guests choose their own garnishes!
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- Crispy bacon slices, candied bacon, or steak bites.
- Pickled onions, olives, or pickled asparagus!
- Cilantro, dill, or parsley sprigs.
- Cherry peppers, jalapenos, or other peppery options!
- Cheese chunks (why not? Jalapeno cheddar is my favorite option for this drink!)
- Horseradish, kimchi, sauerkraut.
- Jalapeño poppers (yes, right in the drink!).
- Shrimp, Smoked oysters, or chunks of grilled salmon.
- Roasted garlic and an array of ground spices like ginger, Mrs. Dash, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, you name it!
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The possibilities are endless, weird, and wonderful! Have some fun this weekend and try throwing a Bloody Mary party with friends or relatives for an unforgettable taste experience.
Classic Cocktails
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- Moscow Mule – spicy & deliciously fizzy
- French 75 – fresh & zesty
- Kir Royale – just 2 ingredients
- Classic Martini – a cocktail with class!
- Easy Mimosa – perfect for brunch!
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Classic Bloody Mary
Spicy and oh so savory with a refreshing tang!
Ingredients
- celery salt for the rim of the glass, optional
- ice cubes
- 1 ½ ounces vodka
- ¾ cup spicy vegetable juice cocktail
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- pinch celery salt
- 1 dash tabasco
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 rib celery
- 1 pickled beans optional
Instructions
- Moisten the rim of a glass. Pour celery salt onto a shallow plate and rub the glass in the salt. Set aside.
- Combine all remaining ingredients (except garnisin a cocktail shaker. Top with ice and shake well.
- Fill the prepared glass with ice and strain tomato mixture into the glass.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 158 | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2314mg | Potassium: 550mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1794IU | Vitamin C: 64mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mgNutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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what rimming salt do you use for your bloody mary drinks?
Lizz, celery salt is what is used for the rimming salt.
Holly, up here in Canada (we’re not changing our minds about joining the U.S.!) we go a step better and use Clamato juice instead of tomato juice. It makes the drink more palatable and we call it Bloody Caesar! Try it! Thanks for all the wonderful, easy recipes!
I love a good Caesar Frannie! So good!
Good recipe and easy to swap out the Vodka for Gin or tequila !!!! add a few shakes of Franks Dill Pickle Hot Sauce!!!
Great idea, yum!
This has always been my favorite drink, even B-4 I was ‘legal’ (Shhhh). I now make ours at home by using Lower Sodium V-8, Lemon Juice, Low Sodium Worstershire Sauce, Horseradish, Celery Salt, a stalk of celery, & a generous squeeze from a bottle of SHRIRACHA Sauce. Need I say more? Enjoy!
Ah, love your version, horseradish is a great addition!
I also enjoy making, sharing and drinking Bloidy Mary’s too! Over the years I have grown to like one ingredient not in your list – that is about a teaspoon of prepared horseradish, for me that puts it to the top. If you’re using the spicy V8 you might not need it, but I usually use plain tomato juice.
Yum!! I love horseradish, sounds like a great addition!
My neice is known for her bloodymarys & she puts everything that you do but eliminates the lemon juice & adds maybe a couple Tablespoons of pickle juice plus celery salt inside, its amazing!!