I've been disappointed by pretty much every Bloody Mary I've had in the past decade. This is because I went to university in Canada: home of the glorious Bloody Caesar.
Caesars are made with tomato juice mixed with clam broth (often pre-mixed as Clamato), which gives the cocktail extreme depth of flavor (not fishiness!)—the same way anchovies are often used to add depth to tomato sauces. Americans are instinctively repulsed by this idea, so it's hard to find a Caesar anywhere. Instead, we in the States serve watery tomato juice with mammoth chunks of horseradish, speared by a two-foot high monstrosity of bacon-laden garnishes to distract you from the flavorlessness of the drink itself.
Since Clamato isn't readily available here, I'd given up on enjoying a Bloody anything, until I happened upon a recipe that was actually tasty. Dare I say, as good—if not better—than a classic Caesar. The real key is pickle juice, but you shouldn't skip the other savory ingredients either.
THE BEST BLOODY MARY
Adapted from: a mix of random internet recipes I can no longer locate
SERVINGS: 6 (for a crowd, I'd double this recipe)
WHAT YOU NEED
- 3 cups tomato juice (regular Mott's is fine)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ Tabasco sauce
- ½ celery salt (If you don't have celery salt, you don't *need* it since Worcestershire is salty, but highly recommended to get that celery flavor)
- ½ fresh black pepper
- ⅓ cup pickle juice (THIS IS KEY!!!!!!! Any jar of cheap dill pickles works fine.)
- 1 - 3 shots of vodka per drink, depending on how you roll
HOW TO MAKE IT
- In a blender: pour in the tomato juice, lemon juice, lime juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, pickle juice, and Tabasco sauce. Process until smooth.
- Transfer to a container or jug and add celery salt and black pepper, to taste. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled—usually 2 hours and up to overnight—but if your tomato juice was already cold, you can serve it right away with ice. We all sometimes need our cocktails urgently.
- When ready to serve, fill each glass with ice. Add desired amount of vodka to each glass, then fill the glass with the Bloody Mary mix. Stir well and garnish each glass—I like to use a cut spear of dill pickle and an olive, but use celery or whatever else you have on hand.