Do you love a good Bloody Mary? We do! It’s the perfect weekend brunch cocktail, and some say the cure for a hangover. There’s also the creative and over-the-top accoutrements like a slice of pizza, fried chicken, or an entire roasted chicken – you’ve seen these, right? It’s also super fun to build your own Bloody Mary, so make the Ultimate Bloody Mary Brunch Bar for your next brunch!
As part of our new cookbooks for 2017 list (check it out here), we included this guide to the Bloody Mary. With more than 50 different Bloody Mary recipes, you’re sure to find one (or more) that you love! This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Lauren! We’re partnering with Ten Speed to give away a copy of The Bloody Mary by Brian Bartels, so that you can start making these Bloody Marys at home too! Just make sure you’re signed up as an insider (here). Then to enter, follow us on Instagram, and tell us about your favorite Bloody Mary via a direct message. You must be 21 to enter. Entries close Saturday, July 29, 2017 at 11:59pm PT.
For the ultimate Bloody Mary bar, we turned to The Bloody Mary for inspiration!
Glassware
First, start with glassware. Make sure you have enough glasses for everyone to make their ultimate Bloody Mary! We like to use a tumbler or rocks glass.
Booze
Next, choose your liquor. Traditionally, vodka is the base for a Bloody Mary. We’ve also seen gin and tequila used. You can choose one for your guests or give them options.
Base
You’ll also need the base to add to the liquor. You can find recipe ideas in Bartels’ book or try one of our favorite pre-mixes here. We also recently spotted this one from Rick Bayless that we need to try. Put your base into an easy to pour container like this or this.
Rim
We like to have a few options to rim the glass. Set out lemon and lime wedges to wet the rim, and plates of a few rim options. We recommend a 1:1 ratio of salt and an additional ingredient like hot pepper, black pepper, or Old Bay.
Ice
Don’t forget the ice. We like to buy a few big bags of ice for parties.
Garnish
When it comes to the garnish, it’s time to get creative. Give your guests lots of options to pick from. You can pretty much do whatever you want! Set out toothpicks for guests to assemble their garnish (These four-inch ones would be perfect!), and fill bowls with all different kinds of accoutrements. Traditional options include celery, olives, and cornichons. Other ideas we’ve seen include strips of bacon (cooked, obviously), slices of avocado, pepperoncini, pickled vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, cheese cubes, shrimp, jalapeños, baby corns, tater tots, herb roasted potatoes, fried chicken wings, potstickers, oysters, whatever you want. Get creative and send us photos of your Bloody Marys!