Bloody Mary: The perfect drink for a hungover day (or any other!)
Bloody Mary is one of my favourite cocktails of all time. I’m sure I’ve told you this many, many times, but I’m a dry cocktail kinda girl. Sweet, fruity drinks just do not work for me. Give me dry, savoury or spicy any day of the week. And, of course, if it’s nice and boozy, what’s not to love?
For me, it’s perfect for lazy afternoons or brunch with family and friends. I love that it’s easy to scale up and make it in big batches for a party. Of course, you can buy the ready Bloody Mary mixes too. Some of them are pretty good and I’ve been known to buy it for trips – a bottle of the mix, a bottle of vodka and you’re sorted. But, at home, I like a little more control! (Can you tell I’m a control freak in the kitchen? Or the bar for that matter?).
Plus it’s a common “Hair of the Dog” drink – reputed to cure hangovers with it’s “heavy vegetable base (to settle the stomach), salt (to replenish lost electrolytes) and alcohol (to relieve head and body aches)” ~ according to Wikipedia. So it’s perfect for a long weekend at home or away, when one invariably drinks too much!
I rarely order it when I’m out though because there are such few restaurants and bars that make it well. Most will skimp on something or the other, managing to disappoint in some way. I find it safer to stick with beer or wine unless I’m at a good cocktail bar, in which case I’ll take my chances. My mom, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to mind. She orders a Bloody Mary everywhere she goes, with extra lemon juice, Tabasco and black pepper on the side. She does this every single time, without even tasting the drink because it almost always needs a little something!!
So here’s my recipe for home-made (Spicy) Bloody Mary – hopefully you won’t need to add a little extra something when you try it!!
Here’s what I used for 2 Servings:
4 tbsp lemon juice (reserve the juiced lemons)
1 tsp table salt
1/4 + 1/8 tsp paprika
90 ml Vodka (you can even use half, 45 ml, of Peppar/Spicy Vodka)
400 ml tomato juice
1/2 tsp celery salt (can use regular table salt if you don’t have celery salt)
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp brine from a pickled Jalapeno jar
Ice
Celery stalk to garnish
Here’s how I made it:
Got all my ingredients together.
I rimmed the glasses by first mixing together 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp paprika in a small plate. Then I rubbed the squeezed lemon halves along the rims and dipped them in the salt+paprika mix.
In a cocktail shaker, I added the rest of the ingredients — the vodka, lemon juice, 1/8 tsp paprika, tomato juice, celery salt, black pepper, Tabasco, Worcestershire, brine — along with the reserved juiced lemons and a few cubes of ice. I gave everything a good shake until well mixed and chilled.
Then I filled the rimmed glasses with ice and poured the Bloody Mary over.
Garnished the cocktails with a stalk each of celery and served them up chilled!
That’s it. A longish list of ingredients but super easy to put together. You can bump up or cut down on the spice as per your taste, but don’t skimp on the lemon and the celery salt if you can help it. It really adds to the flavour. Add a dash of wasabi paste or preserved horseradish for extra bite and that fizzy annoying feeling up your nose! It gives quite a kick, I assure you!
Whatever you do, don’t forget to try a variation for your next brunch party or even a lazy afternoon at home…
Have your own favourite Bloody Mary recipe? Hit me up in the comments and tell me about it…
Like this recipe? Here are some more cocktails and beverages from the archive that you may like: Spicy Beer Micheladas, Amrood Chaat Cocktail, Mulled Wine, Mango Mojito, Pink Lemonade, Summery Cucumber & Mint Cooler, Fresh Ginger Lemonade etc.
Same Time, Last Year:
One Year Ago: Bread-less Cucumber Subs with Ham & Cheese
Two Years Ao: Sooji Halwa Cake
Three Years Ago: Sponge Flan with Caramelised Plums
[wpanchor id=”BloodyMary”]Recipe for Spicy Bloody Mary | Printable Version
- 4 tbsp lemon juice (reserve the juiced lemons)
- 1 tsp table salt
- ¼ + ⅛ tsp paprika
- 90 ml Vodka (you can even use half, 45 ml, of Peppar/Spicy Vodka)
- 400 ml tomato juice
- ½ tsp celery salt (can use regular table salt if you don't have celery salt)
- ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
- ½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tsp brine from a pickled Jalapeno jar
- Ice
- Celery stalk to garnish
Tools & Equipment:- Cocktail Shaker
- Lemon Squeezer
Serveware:- Highball Glasses
- Mix 1 tsp salt & ¼ tsp paprika in a small plate or saucer.
- Rim the glasses by dampening the edges with the juiced lemon and then dipping them in the salt+paprika mix. Fill with ice and set aside.
- In the cocktail shaker, add all the other ingredients except the celery stalk. Also throw in the juiced lemons, peel and all, along with a few cubes of ice.
- Give everything a good shake until well mixed and chilled.
- Strain and pour over the ice in the glasses.
- Garnish with celery stalks and serve chilled.
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