Dirty Bloody Mary Cocktail
Some type of tomato juice and vodka are about the only things that are always present in a Bloody Mary cocktail recipe. With all of the additional ingredients and variations available it can be difficult to find a good option. Well, look no further. Bloody Marys are a brunch favorite of mine, so of course I developed a recipe you don’t want to miss. (And before the Canadians ask, yes there is a bloody Caesar option in the FAQs.)
Instead of some sweet, thick tomato juice concoction that needs brined garnishes to cut through the unctuousness, this version thins the drink out with lots of fresh citrus juice, Worcestershire sauce, crystal hot sauce, and olive brine. I also add grated ginger in place of horseradish for an unexpected, yet refreshing, twist. The brine removes the need for a garnish, but I’m certainly not complaining if a drink comes with an entire bowl of olives. If you like savory yet refreshing cocktails and dirty martinis, this Dirty Bloody Mary Cocktail is the perfect drink for you.
Get the Recipe: Dirty Bloody Mary Cocktail
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic
- 1 head of garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Dirty Bloody Mary
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- ⅓ cup (2.5oz) fresh lemon juice , (1-3 lemons)
- ⅓ cup (2.5oz) fresh lime juice, (3-4 limes)
- 2 cups (16oz) original V8 Juice
- ¾ cup (6oz) corn-based vodka , (like Titos)
- 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon green olive brine
- ½ teaspoon Crystal hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 4-6 dashes of celery bitters
- ½ teaspoon roasted garlic, mashed (about 1 clove)
- ¼ cup tajin or salt , for the rim
Equipment
- 1 cutting board
- chef knife
- aluminum foil
- 1 oven-safe dish or sheet any size
- Measuring spoons
- measuring Cups
- kitchen scale optional
- 1 microplane or fine grater
- 1 1 quart (.9L) lidded container
Instructions
- For this recipe, a few ingredients need to be prepped before everything gets poured and chilled together.
- First make the roasted garlic (FAQs if you want to skip this step). Preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C) cut the top of garlic bulb so the tops of each clove have been sliced off. Then place the bulb in the middle of a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle about ½tbsp (7.5ml or 6g) of olive oil over the top and wrap up the whole thing so it won't leak. Bake for 40-45 minutes.
- While the garlic is roasting, grate the ginger, squeeze the citrus juices, and mix all of the other ingredients together into a lidded container. When the garlic is done, separate a clove from the bulb and whisk it into 1-2 tbsps (15-30ml) of mixed Bloody Mary liquid, to make sure it dissolves into the cocktail. Add the garlic mixture to the container and stir or shake vigorously to combine the paste.
- Place the container in your refrigerator to chill for 2+ hours, so the ingredients can imbue the cocktail evenly. Once your Dirty Bloody Mary Cocktail is fully chilled, it's time to assemble. Prep your glass with a salted rim if desired. Then, stir the cocktail once more, pour over ice, and garnish with skewered olives, a slice of citrus, or a stalk of celery. (See FAQ for more options)
Notes
- The recipe above makes roughly 4 drinks with 1.5oz (45ml) of vodka per drink, depending on your pour and the amount of ice in your glasses. If you want a strong cocktail, add an additional ¼ cup (60ml or 2oz) of vodka to the container.
- Make this cocktail 24hours ahead for easy serving. After that, the citrus starts to lose its brightness.
- For an easy mocktail, sub soda water (preferably lemon) for the alcohol.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, of course. But I have to warn you, this is probably the only recipe I have, where I wouldn’t recommend substituting fresh for roasted garlic. Why? Well…
1. The cocktail isn’t cooked, so the flavor you start with is the flavor you keep.
2. It will be difficult to get the same smoothness in texture and ability to dissolve with fresh garlic.
If you still want to skip roasting the garlic, I’d suggest using 1/4tsp (.5g) garlic powder or 1/4tsp of pre-packaged garlic paste over trying to mash up fresh garlic. You could also infuse the cocktail mix with a sliced garlic clove and then strain when you pour. Be aware that straining will also strain out the other spices.
If you’re worried about what to do with the leftover roasted garlic, have no fear. Here are some of my favorite recipes that will use it right up:
Asian-Inspired, Tahini-Ginger Dressing,
Upgrade Your Grilled Cheese with Beef Stock Infused, Caramelized Onions, and
Umami Packed, Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup.
Hopefully this helps you decide what to do. 🙂
Oh Fun! All of the other FAQs will help guide your creativity for this, think garnishes, alcohols, or other ingredients to play with.
For a Bloody Mary Cocktail bar, you’re going to want to increase this recipe to cover as many servings as you think you’ll need. This recipe makes enough for 4 cocktails. Assume most people will drink 1-2 cocktails and multiply from there. And, don’t forget to leave out the alcohol!
Remember you’ll want to chill the mix in advance, so about 2 hours before you need it. If you want to make it even earlier, you can go up to 24 hours before your party. After a while fresh squeezed citrus can lose its brightness, so I’m keeping that in mind. The acidity of the V8 juice will slow this down, but I wouldn’t tempt fate.
When you setup, set out the Bloody Mary mix as well as any of the alcohols and garnishes listed above. To assemble a cocktail, instruct people to rim their glasses if they would like. Then, add ice and pour 5.5oz (2/3 cup or 157ml) of the mix into their cup. From there, add 1.5oz (45ml) of their choice or alcohol or soda water/tonic and garnish with their choice of options.
A Little Extra:
– If you want to go big and lean even further into experimentation, you can have everything separate and let people fully make their own mixes. Just write down or print out a halved version of the recipe. Then, guests can follow the ratios/measurements to their own 2-cocktail, Bloody Mary concoctions. Bonus points if they make them in mason jars for easy shaking and a fun take home; Even more if they can write their recipe down on a card to memorialize it.
– If that’s a little much and you want a good in-between, mix the V8 juice, citrus juices, salt and Worcestershire sauce to make a base mix. Then, set out the smaller spices and mix-ins for friends to play with.
Check out the FAQs below for fun Bloody Mary bar garnishes and mix-in ideas! Enjoy!
As I’m sure you’ve seen, there are a million ways to garnish a Bloody Mary cocktail. I am partial to brined or pickled toppings like pickled okra or olives with a tajin rim, but you can also consider some of the following garnishes:
– cocktail onions
– crispy or candied bacon
– cherry tomatoes
– a stalk of celery
– lemon/lime slices
– cucumber slices
– a simple salted rim
– a smoked sea salt rim
There are quite a few options and they all come with fun new titles! Trade the vodka for any of the following alcohols and see what you get:
– Tequila for a Bloody Maria.
– Mezcal for a Smoky Maria.
– Black rum for a Bloody Pirate.
– Scotch for a Bloody Scotsman.
– Whiskey for a Brown Mary.
– Gin for a Red Snapper.
– And of course, no alcohol makes a Virgin Mary: a.k.a, a “bloody shame”.
I definitely drank Virgin Marys when I was pregnant and craving something quick, savory, and refreshing. To thin out your mocktail, add a floater of soda water, preferably lemon.
Look to the next FAQs for other ingredients to experiment with and keep the different alcohols in mind when playing around.
There are so many, and I tried a lot of them! Here are some options with thoughts on how much you should consider using and what each will do. Mix and match to your heart’s content!
Liquids:
1. Clamato juice – For all my Canadians, this is your bloody Ceasar. Now, you can definitely just switch out the V8 for Clamato, but I would be warry. Clamato is much thinner and less sweet than V8 juice. It will be in your best interest to, half the citrus juices, Worcestershire sauce, and olive brine and add to taste after that.
2. Carrot juice – In the opposite direction and maybe in a stroke of Easter genius, use half carrot juice and half tomato juice. The carrot juice will be sweeter, but it can add more balance for those who think Bloody Marys are too vegetal. It will also help with how thick a Bloody Mary can be.
3. Pickle juice (garlic or dill) – To give your cocktail a slightly sweet, dill note, switch the olive brine with pickle juice.
4. Kimchi juice – Here’s a fun one. Switch the olive brine for kimchi juice. It’ll give a good punch of vinegar and spice instead of the salty brine from the olives.
5. Cucumber juice – Light and refreshing, cucumber juice can be simply added to the cocktail mix or replace the olive brine.
6. Fish sauce or oyster sauce – Consider using either of these ingredients in place of the Worcestershire sauce. I suggest starting with 1/2tbsp (7.5ml) of oyster sauce and 1tsp (5ml) of fish sauce to start and add from there. They are both stronger in flavor than Worcestershire sauce.
7. Tamari or soy sauce – Switch the kosher salt for tamari or say sauce for more umami flavor in your cocktails.
8. Balsamic vinegar – Need a little sweetness to cut through the drink? Add about 1/4-1/2tsp (1.25-2.5ml) of balsamic vinegar to the mix. A little goes a long way with balsamic, so take your time and add sparingly.
9. Basil oil – Basil would work very well with the balsamic to add a secondary sweetness that also mellows out the vinegar punch. If you add in basil oil, I suggest you leave out the Crystal hot sauce and possibly olive brine.
10. Hot sauces: Siracha, Tabasco, Cholula, etc. – This is an easy one. Simply replace the Cystal hot sauce for your hot sauce of choice. Make sure to take into account any other ingredients you’ve replaced for a specific flavor profile.
Again, there are a lot of options to play around with. Here are my thoughts on flavor and what each will do to the mix.
Pastes/Spices:
1. Horseradish – This will add a clean hit of heat. If you want to add this to the mix, I suggest fully replacing the ginger with horseradish. They do very similar things, and together will be overwhelming.
2. Wasabi – Most commercially produced wasabis are, in fact, horseradish that has been dyed green. If you can find the real deal, take it a bit easier. It’s more pungent than regular horseradish.
3. Gojuchang – The Korean pepper paste is slightly sweet and spicy. You can probably forego hot sauce if you add gojuchang. It’s going to offer a deeper umami flavor and more intensity to the V8 Juice without adding saltiness.
4. Miso paste – Miso adds umami but also saltiness. Use miso instead of salt and olive brine. I’d also half the Worcestershire. Start with 1tsp (5.5g) and increase to taste from there.
5. Tamarind concentrate – This ingredient is for those who really love to play with food. Tamarind pulp is tangy and almost citrus like. You can purchase it in pod, paste, or concentrate form. The concentrate will be easier to work with. If you want more info about using paste checkout of the FAQs in my Watermelon Mint Salad recipe. It has a tamarind dip/drizzle. For this ingredient, try replacing the lemon or both citrus juices with a mixture of water and tamarind concentrate. Use roughly 1/2tbsp (7.5ml or 9g) of tamarind concentrate per 2.5oz (80ml) of water.
6. Anchovies – Lose the Worcestershire sauce and add 1-2 anchovies instead. Worcestershire is made with a number if ingredients, namely anchovies. So, skip the middleman and add the real deal. Mash the anchovy(ies) into a paste and incorporate fully.
7. Capers – Caper brine and mashed caper berries can be a fun replacement for the olive brine in this recipe, much like replacing Worcestershire sauce with anchovies. Because the caper buds are brined, you will still get the added saltiness, but you can also expect a vegetal and floral taste that would be absent from the olive brine. These would be a great addition if you were using gin instead of vodka.
8. Fresh garlic – Using fresh garlic is going to decrease some savory/umami taste provided by the roasted garlic. It will brighten the cocktail a bit and give it a spicier punch. 1:1 substitution is a good place to start. For this, either use garlic from a prepared tube or finely dice and then smash it into a paste. Mix in the paste until it dissolves into the cocktail mix.
9. Pink peppercorns – Bright and fruity, crushed pink peppercorns can replace the black pepper for a lighter and more floral flavor. You will notice much less peppery flavor if you use pink peppercorns because they aren’t actually from a pepper plant. They are actually the berry of a specific variety of rose.
10. Sìchuān peppercorns – These are also not from a pepper plant but can replace the ground black peppercorn. Sìchuān peppercorns are part of the citrus family and can impart a lemony, floral taste as well as add an interesting numbing sensation to your cocktail.
11. Cumin and/or coriander seeds – Cumin will add earthiness and coriander will add an extra hint of citrus to the drink mix. The flavors will be even more pronounced if you toast whole spices and then grind them. Begin with 1/4tsp (.6g) and increase to your tastes.
12. Old Bay seasoning – Old Bay can be used as an all-purpose seasoning for a Bloody Mary; especially if you plan to drink them alongside some seafood. Skip the celery seeds, black pepper, and kosher salt and instead use 1tsp (2.5g) of Old Bay.
I hope this section and the one above inspire you to play with this versatile drink. While I know I’ve come up with a great cocktail, there is always room for new creations. You can bet I’ll be experimenting with some of the Asian flavors I mentioned. I feel like they would make this drink sing!
