Bloody Maria

Swap out the vodka in a Bloody Mary for tequila, and you’ve got the Bloody Maria! This simple change makes for a Mexican style spin on the drink.

The Bloody Mary is a classic cocktail that was invented back in the 1920’s. It went on to world-wide popularity as a brunch drink and hangover cure. It even makes the list of International Bartender Association’s IBA official cocktails, which means it has an “official” definition. The Bloody Maria simply swaps out the vodka for tequila, making a Mexican-style drink. Here are the ingredients in a Bloody Maria:

Ingredients:

• Tequila Reposado or White
• Tomato juice
• Lemon juice
• Worcestershire sauce
• Horseradish
• Mexican hot sauce
• Celery salt
• Black pepper

How to make a Bloody Maria (basic method)

This recipe for a Bloody Maria is a mix, meaning it makes enough for 4 drinks. Use it for entertaining, or if you want a single serving, make the mix and refrigerate the rest for later. The flavor improves over time! Here are the keys to making the best Bloody Maria:

• If you can, chill the tomato juice and tequila first. This lets the drink get cold without having to use too much ice to dilute it.
• Shake the mix in a cocktail shaker without ice. The best way to make a Bloody Maria is not shaking or stirring it with ice, like you would with a normal drink. Why? It dilutes the mix too much and makes for a watery consistency. Simply mix the mixture without ice, then serve it over ice. This results in the perfect, thick consistency and flavor.
• Strain and if time, chill. Straining removes the chunks of horseradish from the drink: a cocktail strainer is best (though you can use whatever strainer you have). If you have time, chilling the mixture for about 1 hour or overnight lets the flavors meld.
• Rim the glass and garnish! Serve over ice with the garnishes of your choice.

Chilling allows the flavors to meld (optional)

This Bloody Maria tastes great right away. But it tastes even better after chilling for 1 hour, or overnight. Why? Chilling helps to meld all the ingredients together into a cohesive flavor. Since usually this drink is made for entertaining, it shouldn’t be too hard to whip up in advance and chill until serving. But you can also drink it right away: it still tastes fantastic!

Finish with a squeeze of lime!

To amp those Mexican flavors even more, we like to squeeze a wedge of lime onto the top of our Bloody Maria. This adds just the right brightness, without it getting lost in the drink. It’s optional, but adds a nice nuance.

Best Bloody Maria garnishes

Now for the garnishes! The Bloody Mary is a drink with one of the most interesting and unique collections of garnishes. For the Bloody Maria garnishes, you can use similar but lean towards more Mexican flavors:

• Celery stalks (required!)
• Lime wedges
• Pickled jalapeno peppers or jarred peppers of any kind
• Pepperoncini
• Pimento stuffed olives
• Cocktail onions
• Dill pickle spears

The easiest way to serve the garnishes is on cocktail picks or skewers. (Of course if you’re solo, you can just throw them all in!) Thread all your garnishes onto the picks or skewers, which looks stunning and helps keep the cocktail easy to drink.Swap out the vodka in a Bloody Mary for tequila, and you’ve got the Bloody Maria! This simple change makes for a Mexican style spin on the drink.