We’re very particular about our Bloody Marys in my family. Since I can remember, every holiday or family get together my grandfather would stand at the kitchen island, while everyone else whirled around from pot to pan from the stove to the sink cooking and back. Stoically, Boppy would calmly mix the tomato juice, with Worcestershire, olive juice, fresh squeezed lemons and just the right amount of horse radish in a crystal punch bowl. Despite having memorized all the ingredients and measurements, he would still flip open to the Bloody Mary recipe in the Masters Cookbook, which was splattered and dirtied by ingredients over the years. Although Boppy has passed away, we carry on the tradition of making a big batch of Bloody’s for every holiday, and while the recipe has been ingrained in our minds we still open up the Masters Cookbook just like Boppy used to do.

Needless to say, I love a good Bloody Mary. In college it became the tradition (like many others before us) to wake on game day Saturday to a delicious, well decorated Bloody Mary. While the accoutrement is an important part, if the base is not perfection, you may as well just order a charcuterie plate. 

I love the traditional recipe that we use in my family, but I have started to try variations and I think I really nailed down a perfect Bloody Mary. I do love the tomato juice base (I only use Campbell’s) that is traditional for any Bloody Mary, however recently I was introduced to Clamato. Clamato is a clam juice and tomato mixed so you get that sea salty flavor and it helps thin out the consistency. The right amount of horseradish and worcestershire are a staple, but instead of olive juice I like the more sour juice from pickles! That all combined with your favorite vodka and a little lemon and lime juice, makes what I think is the perfect Bloody Mary.