Author Notes
The premise of my version of the classic Bloody Mary is to deliver a cocktail-like consistency where many versions are as thick as clam chowder, and to produce a sublime depth of flavor where others are simply a salt bomb. Life is salty enough, I say.
As we sit around my living room on Sundays watching football, my friends and I enjoy “dragging it through the garden” as we call it: We add a mouth-watering variety of Rick’s Picks to the drink, heightening the taste experience and enhancing the visual appeal. The initial straining step essentially clarifies the base juice, and as rendered here, the secondary ingredients provide a nuanced boost, so the net effect is a cocktail that is simultaneously clarified and fortified. The smaller 8-ounce glass is important: You will find the first sip as delicious as the last, whereas with larger glasses there is an unsatisfyingly watery endgame. —Rick Field
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Ingredients
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1 cup
strong beef bouillon (optional)
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2
cloves garlic (optional)
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64 ounces
tomato juice (preferably low-sodium)
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2 tablespoons
hot sauce, or more to taste (A&B American Style preferred)
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2 tablespoons
freshly ground horseradish root
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1 tablespoon
Worcestershire sauce (preferably low-sodium)
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1 tablespoon
coarsely ground black pepper
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Zest and juice of one large and attractive lemon
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Vodka (see proportions below)
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Rick's Picks Mean Beans, Smokra, and Hotties
Directions
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Unless you are vegetarian, make one cup of strong beef bouillon ahead of time, and add to it two cloves of finely-minced garlic. Chill.
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Strain the tomato juice through a fine sieve. This should yield 5 cups of strained tomato water. Use the retained pulp for a pasta sauce application or discard.
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Combine the hot sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest. If you have made the bouillon and garlic potion, add it as well. Blend in a food processor.
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Combine with the tomato water and shake well.
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Place a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker with the Rick’s Picks Mix, and add vodka to taste (1 part vodka to 3 parts mix will yield a fine, strong cocktail). Shake well.
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Pour into an 8-ounce cocktail glass, and garnish with Rick’s Picks Mean Beans, Smokra, and Hotties.
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Repeat!
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