Rhetorical question: Is it even really boozy brunch if there aren’t Bloody Marys?
Earlier this week, I shared my favorite fall brunch cocktail made with spiced apple cider and pomegranate juice.
But sometimes you need a classic, spicy, salty, Bloody Mary to start brunch off right. The hair of the dog and all that. Or at least the kick you need after waking up at 5 am with your kids.
To be the belle of the brunch, bring your own portable Bloody Mary bar, complete with loaded skewers and a not-too-spicy, not-too-bland from-scratch Bloody recipe. Mason jars make it easy to transport all the ingredients, and guests can customize their own skewers and level of heat in their drink with so many seasonings and garnishes.
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All the Essentials for a Perfect Bloody Mary
Ingredients
- V-8 juice (regular or Spicy depending on your guests)
- Vodka
- Lime juice
- Lemon juice
- Olive juice (from green olives)
- Pickle juice
- Worcestershire sauce
- Soy sauce
- Tabasco sauce
- Trader Joe’s Chili-Lime Seasoning
- Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning (mix with Chili-Lime Seasoning to rim your glass if you want to be extra fancy
How do you like your Bloody Mary? My recipe starts with regular V-8 juice, plus a liberal amount of both lime and lemon juices. Next I throw in olive and pickle juice (usually straight from the jars) and then season with Worcestershire, soy and Tabasco. I go pretty heavy on the Worcestershire. To add some additional salty heat, douse liberally with Trader Joe’s Chili-Lime Seasoning.
Here’s the exact amounts I used for 1 pitcher of Bloody Mary mix (add your vodka separately):
- 48 ounces original V-8 juice
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup olive juice
- 1/4 cup pickle juice
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 Tbsp soy
- 1/2 Tbsp Tabasco
Adjust Worcestershire, soy, Tabasco and Chili-Lime Seasoning to taste. (I just kept adding until I hit the sweet spot of salty, spicy, and still drinkable.)
Garnishes for Skewers
- Black olives
- Green olives
- Grape tomatoes
- Mini dill pickles or dill pickle slices
- Mozzarella balls
- Cocktail shrimp
- The possibilities are endless … Bacon? Mini peppers? Good old-fashioned celery sticks? Get creative!
Experiment with what order to skewer your garnishes, but I recommend a grape tomato at the top and at the bottom to anchor it so everything stays put. I let guests skewer their own cocktail shrimp separately from a mason jar with small cocktail toothpicks, since not everyone is a fan of shrimp. (Something about the texture…)
Skewering the garnishes is quick and easy when everything is already bite-size (unlike the struggle of fruit skewers). I threw these loaded Bloody Mary garnish skewers together before 7 AM on a Sunday because my kids had me up well before the sun.
Accessories
- 6-inch bamboo skewers
- Cocktail toothpicks
- Medium mason jars
- Small mason jars
- Large mason jars
- 64 ounce serving pitcher
- Medium red serving tray
Transport juice from the olives and the pickles in the smallest mason jars to mix into your Bloody Mary mix. Use the medium mason jars to transport cocktail shrimp, a mixture of olives, and any other garnishes you wish to let guests build themselves. Or add all your garnishes to mason jars and skip the skewering altogether!
Arrange all of the ingredients and garnishes in the round serving tray. Use additional small mason jars for cocktail toothpicks for shrimp or other garnishes.
Have fun getting creative and finding your own perfect Bloody blend! Share your favorite garnishes in a comment below or with a picture and #NeverDoneWithFun on social media. Cheers to the perfect boozy brunch!
