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The best bloody Mary cocktail

The best bloody Mary cocktail

Martha Collison's deeply savoury tomato drink recipe serves two, but can easily be doubled or tripled to make a large jug.

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  • Serves2
  • CourseDrink
  • Prepare5 mins
  • Cook-
  • Total time5 mins

Ingredients

  • Ice cubes
  • 250ml tomato juice
  • 1 unwaxed lemon, juice of ½, ½ cut into thin slices
  • ¼ tsp celery salt
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tsp hot sauce, or to taste (I like Encona Hot Pepper Sauce)
  • 100ml vodka
  • 2 celery stalks, for garnish
  • Olives, to serve
  • Guindilla hot peppers, to serve

Method

  1. Fill 2 tall glasses with ice cubes. Combine the tomato juice, lemon juice, celery salt and black pepper in a small jug and stir so the ingredients are well combined but not frothy.

  2. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the hot sauce, then taste and adjust the balance of flavours to your preference.

  3. Pour a double (50ml) measure of vodka into each glass, then fill to the top with the tomato mix. Use a stick of celery to give it a stir.

  4. Thread a slice of lemon, olive and guindilla hot pepper onto a skewer and place 1 on top of each glass just before serving.

Cook’s tip

Bloody Mary margarita
Swap vodka for tequila to change the flavour profile of your drink. Try dipping the rim of the glass in lemon juice, then celery salt, to complete the cocktail.

Japanese inspired
Swap vodka for Sawanotsuru Deluxe Sake and instead of celery salt, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, try seasoning with soy sauce, ponzu and wasabi.

Non-alcoholic
Try switching the vodka for Seedlip Grove 42. The citrus flavours work beautifully with the umami richness of the drink.

Shaken or stirred?
You might feel desperate to crack open the cocktail shaker, but a bloody Mary is actually a drink that’s better vigorously stirred. Shaking with ice will cause the mixture to froth.

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