Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Bloody Mary Pt1

Posted by Erin Wilburn / 2 comments » / alcohol, drinks

I’m calling this “Bloody Mary Pt1” because there WILL be a part two. I think there are two components to making a killer Bloody Mary, one is some good vodka, and the second is a good bloody mary mix. We’ve mastered the good vodka. In August, as we have the previous 2 years, we attended the East Nashville Tomato Arts Festival. I could try to explain it… but I won’t even try. Just check out their site, and if you’re a Nashvillian and you’ve never been, you’re really missing out. This year’s Tomato Arts Fest happened to be on a HOT HOT HOT day. The minute we parked (Thanks Travis!) and walked over to the festivities, we were like “DAMN we need some A/C and a drink!”

(This the The Boy sporting his “fro-hawk” as I like to call it.)

After I forced The Boy to let me stand in line for some free Tomato Basil Gelato and souvenior screenprint reusable grocery bag from Whole Foods we made our way over to one of our favorite East Nashville bars, Red Door East.

I wasn’t planning on drinking a Bloody Mary. To be perfectly honest, with my acid reflux, I usually can’t handle the acidic tomatoes PLUS the vodka for more than a few sips. Even if I DID double up on my omeprazole that day!

But while we were cooling off, someone down the bar ordered a Bloody Mary, and I saw the bartender reach for a golden bottle. I had to ask him “Are you putting tequila in that?!” And he showed me the bottle and explained it was a Ukranian Vodka, Neimeroff, their Honey Pepper variety.

Alright, that’s it! Interest piqued! I nudged The Boy, who was sipping a beer, and asked if he wanted to share a Bloody Mary. He was intrigued too, so I asked the bartender for ONE Bloody Mary. He fixed us two. At first I was mad, there’s no way I could drink the whole thing!

After I took my first sip I realized, this man knew what he was doing!! The Boy would of had to pry it outta my hands if he wanted a sip. 😉 Best Bloody Mary ever. It was smooth, and balanced, with the kick of the alcohol. Mmmm… A salad in a glass right there!

We sought out the vodka, and found it at one of our favorite liquor shops in town. I bought some organic vegetable juice, and left the recipe searching up to The Boy. Here’s the basic recipe he followed:

We like to mix these up on Sundays during football, because, unlike Saturday, The Boy doesn’t have to go into work that day! Stay tuned, as I said there WILL be a Part II to this story. One day soon, we’ll learn how to make our own Bloody Mary mix. Then I have a feeling we’re going to get lots more guests wanting to come over for Sunday visit! 😉

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Bloody Mary

adapted from DrinkMixNet
Yields 1

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces (1 jigger) vodka (we recommend Nemiroff Honey Pepper Vodka)
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Tabasco to taste
salt to taste
fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 celery stick for garnish
1 olive for garnish
1 banana pepper for garnish

Directions:

Combine the vodka, the tomato juice, the lemon juice, the Worcestershire sauce, the Tabasco, 1 cup ice cubes, and salt and pepper to taste, shake the mixture well, and strain it into a tall glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish the Bloody Mary with the celery stick, olive, and banana pepper.

PS. This time last year I was making a dish I like to make every fall, Cranberry Orange Stuffed Glazed Pork, and this amazing soup that The Boy LOVES. It’s our number 1 favorite soup.