Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary

....Full of Vodka, blessed are you among cocktails.
Pray for me now in the hour of my death,
which I hope is soon.
Amen.

Oh, the wonders of the Bloody Mary. No other drink besides a mimosa, and let's be honest that's pretty girlie and only allowed on Sunday for brunch. But none other is socially acceptable to drink before noon like the Bloody Mary. In fact it's so accepted to consume that you should have no problem chugging these down on any day that ends with Y and not have to worry about judgmental eyes.

Above all drinks out there, Bloody Mary's are probably one of the most universally loved drinks. So it's only fitting that I took a moment to point out how one makes it. Some people use mix. Some people do not. Here's two recipes to get you started.

#1: BM with Mix.
2 parts Zing-zang brand mix. (This mix is very bold, a lot of pepper.)
1 part Bakon vodka. (Bacon flavored vodka. In my experience it tastes absolutely awful when not mixed in a Bloody Mary.)
Old Bay to taste. (I adore Old Bay, as anyone from Maryland should.)
1 spear of olives (4-5 standard green olives with pimentos).
1 Dill pickle spear.

and then there's the other option

#2: BM from scratch.

2 parts tomato (or Clamato, for a Caesar) juice.
1 part Absolut Peppar vodka.
1 Teaspoon of extra hot horseradish.
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper.
Old bay to taste.
Tabasco sauce to taste.
1 Celery Stalk for garnish.

What is very important, and part of the main key is the Worcestershire. Without that you're better off not bothering. You can make them by the pitcher full, just add worcestershire to tomato juice till it is just visibly darkened by it. Then add jarred horseradish to taste, black pepper until flecks are visible after stirring, and lime juice. You should even throw the spent wedges into the pitcher. You stir and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours before serving.

That's the virgin kind, which you really should start to teach your children how to make at an early age. It's very important. But if you want to adult it up, just serve it by filling 1/3 full of ice cold vodka, topping with the mix and then you garnish it with celery stick and lime.

Though if you want to use cumin and celery salt, that's just icing on the cake. You can even use pickled green beans if you want to add a dash of awesome to the garnish.

Now if you're like me, you'd want to make the vodka flavored. A simple infusion is easy for the vodka. All you do is get some mustard seeds, give them a quick once over with a pestle and then you toss them into the vodka and leave it in the fridge for a good two weeks. After that you just strain out the seeds with a cheese cloth or coffee filter and your vodka is infused with a mustardy flavor that will not be overpowering, but will be on the flavor profile. It's really what separates the men from the boys.

With this concoction you can make the mustard vodka bloody mary.

2 parts mustard vodka
4 parts tomato juice
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ tsp finely ground black mustard seeds
Worcester sauce to taste
Tabasco to taste

Serve iced in a big jug, with celery sticks on the side.

This isn't even getting to the crazy bacon flavored vodka.. or the jalapeno vodka. Both of which add levels to a bloody mary you wouldn't believe. I'll save those for another day. I hope that this quick run through the Bloody Mary world helped you nurse that hangover this Sunday morning.