Bloody Mary

You remember when you were a kid and you were just learning to swim?  The deep end, even though it was the same pool, even though you could see the bottom was still way scarier than the shallow end.  That’s the sort of feeling I’m getting this week.  For as long as I can remember I’ve had a very tenuous relationship with tomato juice.  My grandparents drank it with nearly every breakfast and from time to time I’d have a glass, but I never much liked it as a kid.  Later on I remember not disliking it so much as simply not really having strong feelings one way or the other.

Queue college and my coming of drinking age.  My friends and family really liked Bloody Marys so naturally I tried them from time to time.  I never really liked them though.  Those experiences ended with me stopping my sampling completely.  Thinking back it’s been at least five years since I tried my last Bloody Mary and I think it’s about time I got to the bottom of things.  Problem is Bloody Marys are very much like Margaritas in that everyone who makes them has a different favorite recipe.  Let’s start with a look at The Joy of Mixology recipe.

Bloody Mary (Joy of Mixology)

2 oz Vodka
4 oz Tomato Juice
Lemon Juice to Taste
Black Pepper to Taste
Salt or Celery Salt to Taste
Horseradish to Taste
Worcestershire Sauce to Taste
Hot Sauce to Taste
Lemon Wedge for Garnish
Celery Stick for Garnish

1) Combine ingredients in an ice filled shaker
2) Shake and strain into an ice filled Collins glass
3) Garnish

Now you see where I’m running into a bit of a problem.  There are six ingredients in that recipe that are listed as “to Taste”.  That introduces a near infinite amount of variability.  So, I’m calling out to all of you.  I need your help in finding recipes that are solid starting points.  If you’ve got any tips shoot them my way!