Suzi and I have a few obsessions, like peony soap. We’ve searched endlessly for a successor to a bar we bought twenty years ago. We’ve come close, but a few dozen bars down and still more to go.
And so it is with the other obsession: a really good Bloody Mary. We’ve had them. In bars and at restaurants. We have kindly asked for the recipe, we have been rewarded with a piece of paper scribbled with ingredients, and when we try them at home they fail. We cannot duplicate the spicy, perfect intensity of those great bartender drinks. Some things are just plain secret.
Until now. This version is not perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. I was inspired by the Bloody Mary Single Serving recipe in The Commander’s Kitchen, the wonderful cookbook from Commander’s Palace restaurant in New Orleans. I’ve noted my changes below but the instructions are theirs.
Do not be afraid of the horseradish sauce, but do buy a solid brand. You need that zip paired with the Worcestershire. At Commander’s they make their own Worcestershire but, for me, Lea and Perrins is “the” flavor.
Single Serving Bloody Mary
Yield: serves 1
Ingredients:
For the drink itself:
- 1 ½ ounces vodka [seriously good quality is needed here]
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish [Commander’s says 1]
- 1 teaspoon or two splashed Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon of hot pickle juice [Commander’s says 2 dashes of hot sauce]
- ½ cup tomato juice [Commander’s allows for vegetable juice but Sacramento is sacred]
For the garnish ala Commander’s:
- Creole Seafood Seasoning
- 1 medium-sized pickled pepper, skewered with sugar cane [or toothpick]
- 1 medium-sized pickled okra, skewered with sugar cane [or toothpick]
Preparation:
Place ice cubes in an Old-Fashioned glass until it’s two-thirds full. Add the vodka, horseradish, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and vegetable juice. Coil the glass with a shaker, shake well, then let rest in the shaker. Wet the rim of the glass and coat the entire rim with Creole seasoning. Pour the drink back into the glass and garnish with the pepper and okra.
Source: Commander’s Kitchen by Ti Adelaide Martin and Jamie Shannon [Broadway Books, 2000]