How do you garnish a Bloody Mary?

I had one for breakfast today that was garnished with the traditional celery and lemon wedge, but also an artichoke wedge (canned/blah) & a whole piece of pickled okra (nice surprise).

My favorite Bloody Mary was from a bar in New Orleans called Molly's and included one green and one black olive, one each lemon and lime wedge, sprinkle of Old Bay, and 1 Tabasco brand pickled green bean. Sounds like too much going on but it just worked.

Also love the Bloody Mariko from a sake bar called Decibel--here in NYC--garnished with seasoned black & white sesame seeds! Love the crunch. Another place (called Verlaine) has a Vietnamese version (sriraicha and ginger) garnished with cucumber sticks. Once again, love the crunch!

All of a sudden I'm interested to know what other variations are out there. My new weekend work schedule is crazy and a nice beverage break could salvage my summer.

Anitalectric
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8 Comments

mrslarkin
mrslarkin June 20, 2011
I think lovage would be awesome in a Bloody Mary. Great celery-like taste. Muddle the leaves. The stems are hollow - you can sip it like a straw.
 
Anitalectric
Anitalectric June 20, 2011
@lori do you just put peeled horseradish in a bottle of vodka? What are some other good flavors to make at home and have stocked at all times? @lastnightsdinner Thanks for the recipe! I am very into celery so I love the idea of muddling the leaves. Can't wait to try that!

@Bevi I have never seen an all natural maraschino! Shirley Temples might have to make a comeback.
 
Bevi
Bevi June 20, 2011
I buy Tillen Farms pickled vegetables and stick one of each kind into the Bloody Mary (minus the all natural maraschino cherry)! The spicy asparagus is my favorite, but you can buy pickled spicy carrots, green beans, snap peas, white asparagus, as
well. Many supermarkets carry these products, or you can order online.

The maraschino cherry, by the way, is so so good.
 
lastnightsdinner
lastnightsdinner June 20, 2011
My Bloody Mary recipe is a little nontraditional: http://www.food52.com/recipes/2208_a_pitcher_of_bloodies

I like to have fun with the garnishes, offering lemon and lime wedges, green olives, cornichons, celery stalks, pickled green tomatoes, pickled green beans, cocktail onions, and pickled green chile peppers for guests to choose from.
 
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A Whole Foods Market Customer
A Whole Foods Market Customer June 20, 2011
Anything spicy! Horseradish is my favorite and plenty of lime.
 
aargersi
aargersi June 20, 2011
LOVE Molly's! The NOLA pickled green bean, pickled okra, green olive and a lime is my favorite. When we do a bloody mary bar pretty much any pickled item is fair game ... plus lemons, limes, spicy things, and veggie spears and sticks.
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 20, 2011
I have recently switched to cold, refrigerated pickle spears with a shrimp "twist" and a little fresh grated horseradish in the mix. Rim the glasses with a spicy salt made from old bay, celery salt, kosher salt and chili powder. And don't forget to make your own horseradish vodka!
 
Sam1148
Sam1148 June 19, 2011
Sriracha Salt sometimes
http://www.food52.com/recipes/11404_sriracha_salt

and some but not all. cucumber spears. Celery (of course), pickled okra, pickled green beans, boiled shrimp, slim jims (before they started tasted like pepperoni flavored news print, there are some other brands that are good).
 
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