The Bloody Mary Christmas Cure All

 

While it is generally true that “As long as we have wine, the holidays will be fine,” there is still something mandatory for me about a spicy Bloody Mary on Christmas morning. Santa has already come and filled the stocking and the kids are antsy to open their gifts…but the unwrapping marathon must wait until my Bloody Mary is mixed.

Mixing your own drink is essential. Only YOU know how you are feeling at that moment: do you really want it extra spicy this early in the morning? Is your mother-in-law visiting, inexplicably causing you to spill a little extra vodka in the glass? You get the idea.

There is nothing wrong with Mr. & Mrs. T’s Bloody Mary mix. You can get the pre-bottled original, or maybe you like the one with horseradish already included, or the bold and spicy version. This is all well and good, but not as much fun or as tasty as concocting your own drink with fresh ingredients. Make the base juice and then add in as much vodka as you would like. Which begs the question, how good of a vodka?

Here is my take on vodka. It is a highly rectified spirit and the higher it has been rectified (before being watered down to 40% abv for bottling) the less taste it will have. Designed to be a neutral spirit, the main difference between volume brands is going to be the mouthfeel derived from the amount of added glycerin. I love an artisinal potato vodka from a pot still that retains more aroma and flavor character, but what good would it do to pay for that and dump it in tomato juice? Something middle of the road here is not going to declassify your spectacular drink to barely acceptable, even for a certified super taster.

My Bloody Mary plan this year:

• 4 cups Spicy V8 juice (you can use regular tomato juice if you want to tone the spice down)
• 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 ½ tablespoons bottled horseradish
• 1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon tobacco sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Mix all this up for your base juice. All you really need to do now is mix in vodka and you can let the kids have at the noisemaker presents… But it won’t be as much fun if you leave the garnish off of your drink glass. Garnishes tend to make a drink much more personal. Everyone needs a celery stick to stir their drink and balance the acidity, but after that the garnish gates are wide open. Do you add pickled asparagus, cucumbers, okra? Maybe you have a favorite jar of Jalapenos in the back of the fridge?

Of course, there are those entrepreneurs, like Dave Sobelman of Sobelman’s Pub and Grill, who made a name for themselves by ratcheting the Bloody Mary garnish war up more than a notch:

As for me, I prefer a celery salted rim, fresh dill, a lemon wedge and olives to go along with the obligatory celery stick—and I actually do have to thank my mother in law for that.