The perfect Bloody Mary

The perfect Bloody Mary

My second bartending job at the wee age of 22 was right after college at a public golf course in San Dimas. While I was often behind the bar in the club house, I was mostly driving around in a bulky gas-powered golf cart filled with booze, ice, sandwiches, and snacks for the thirsty golfers. It was a really fun summer job being outdoors and meeting some very interesting  people on the course, but the best thing I got out of it all was learning how to make a really good Bloody Mary on the back of the golf cart – and boy did I make a LOT of those.

Nowadays I don’t have to load up the golf cart with those tiny airplane bottles of booze, so the Bloody Mary making has gotten a little more complicated and a lot more delicious! The key is really the horseradish and the mix itself – you can make your own horseradish, or splurge for something fancy from the store. For the mix, I really prefer the mix you can pick up at Trader Joe’s as it serves as a nice thick tomato base to start with and doctor up a little (there’s a decent review of Bloody Mary mixes here). Follow my recipe below, but note that I make mine very spicy and don’t always measure what I’m pouring, so do taste as you go!

The Perfect Bloody Mary recipe

• 1 1/2 – 2 oz (about a shot) of vodka (we used Tito’s in this photo)
• Muddled jalapeno slices (optional)
• Pepper (little more than a dash, but if your mix is pepper-heavy you may not need it)
• Pinch of celery salt
• Splash of olive juice
• Dash of Tabasco
• Dash of bitters (celery bitters if you have it)
• Splash of Worcester Sauce
• 1/8 tsp Horesradish (or more if you’re hooked on it like we are)
• Blood Mary mix
• Olives for garnish (bonus points if they are stuffed with garlic)
• Lime wedge to squeeze
• Celery or pickled green beans (so good) for garnish

Ingredients for a perfect Bloody Mary