Make Ahead

Rick's Picks Bloody Mary Mix

by:
August  5, 2014
4
4 Ratings
Rick's Picks Bloody Mary Mix
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

The premise of my version of the classic Bloody Mary is to deliver a cocktail-like consistency where many versions are as thick as clam chowder, and to produce a sublime depth of flavor where others are simply a salt bomb. Life is salty enough, I say.

As we sit around my living room on Sundays watching football, my friends and I enjoy “dragging it through the garden” as we call it: We add a mouth-watering variety of Rick’s Picks to the drink, heightening the taste experience and enhancing the visual appeal. The initial straining step essentially clarifies the base juice, and as rendered here, the secondary ingredients provide a nuanced boost, so the net effect is a cocktail that is simultaneously clarified and fortified. The smaller 8-ounce glass is important: You will find the first sip as delicious as the last, whereas with larger glasses there is an unsatisfyingly watery endgame. —Rick Field

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup strong beef bouillon (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic (optional)
  • 64 ounces tomato juice (preferably low-sodium)
  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce, or more to taste (A&B American Style preferred)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly ground horseradish root
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (preferably low-sodium)
  • 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • Zest and juice of one large and attractive lemon
  • Vodka (see proportions below)
  • Rick's Picks Mean Beans, Smokra, and Hotties
Directions
  1. Unless you are vegetarian, make one cup of strong beef bouillon ahead of time, and add to it two cloves of finely-minced garlic. Chill.
  2. Strain the tomato juice through a fine sieve. This should yield 5 cups of strained tomato water. Use the retained pulp for a pasta sauce application or discard.
  3. Combine the hot sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest. If you have made the bouillon and garlic potion, add it as well. Blend in a food processor.
  4. Combine with the tomato water and shake well.
  5. Place a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker with the Rick’s Picks Mix, and add vodka to taste (1 part vodka to 3 parts mix will yield a fine, strong cocktail). Shake well.
  6. Pour into an 8-ounce cocktail glass, and garnish with Rick’s Picks Mean Beans, Smokra, and Hotties.
  7. Repeat!
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7 Reviews

BrownEyedBetty
BrownEyedBetty June 18, 2021
Making this for a Father's Day Brunch this weekend. I carefully strained (twice!) my tomato juice and it yielded 6 cups, not 5. I didn't adjust anything else to account for the extra juice and it still came out with a nice bite, some spice and heat at the back of the throat and a nice lemony kick. SOOOOOOO much better than any store-bought mix!
 
Mo G.
Mo G. March 19, 2016
This is really tasty, but note that making the tomato water can take a while. I used a very fine mesh sieve and it took over an hour, even with me stirring frequently. But it was worth it! So just make this the day or night before - it will give the flavors time to meld and it will be all the more delicious.
 
Jo-Anne
Jo-Anne May 8, 2015
This is the Cookin' Canuck's version but there are some stellar ones out there...
http://www.cookincanuck.com/2012/01/the-caesar-cocktail-aka-the-canadian-bloody-mary-recipe/
 
Jo-Anne
Jo-Anne May 8, 2015
This is the Wikipedia article on Caesars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_%28cocktail%29
 
Jo-Anne
Jo-Anne May 7, 2015
It is drink served in Canada similarr to a Bloody Mary. I will post something as soon as I can. :)
 
Ann
Ann May 6, 2015
What is a Caesar?
 
Jo-Anne
Jo-Anne May 6, 2015
Please, please, PLEASE! Try a Caesar. Please.