There are many contending tales behind the origins of the bloody Mary—some fanciful, others plausible, and a few relatively well documented.
An accurate picture might include Americans in the 1920s drinking the juice from canned tomatoes to get some nutrients or ease their hangovers; it might include entertainer George Jessel coming up with the name and popularizing the combination of tomato juice and vodka; and it might include bartender Fernand Petiot adding spices to that concoction at New York’s St. Regis Hotel, where they called it a red snapper.
This much is clear: Drinkers have continued to tinker with the bloody Mary over the years, so it’s continued to evolve even as it has remained popular.
The original recipe was pretty simple: vodka, tomato juice, Tabasco sauce, and lemon, shaken. The recipe for the Petiot’s red snapper calls for salt, cayenne pepper, and Worcestershire sauce—closer to the recipe we drink today. There are also 1950s recipes that include Angostura bitters, egg white, celery salt, or clam juice.
If there’s a running thread to the bloody-Mary story, it’s that people have always played with the components, from swapping out the base spirit to adding or substituting various ingredients. I’ve been tearing this drink apart and rebuilding it since I was a baby bartender, and I’ve found it an incredibly fun and delicious cocktail to riff on—and we certainly shouldn’t chain it to the brunch menu.
Flavor Considerations
When I first began my training behind the bar, I was fortunate to learn from seasoned veterans, and I quickly learned that staple drinks tend to come with staple opinions—every bartender had a version of a classic that was “perfected” or the only “true” recipe.
At the time, the bloody Mary was still popular with older guests, particularly in hotel bars, and enjoyed in the afternoons as well as the evenings. Watching guests guzzle two or three bloody Marys alongside heavy steak-and-potatoes made me a bit uncomfortable, personally. As I began developing my own variations, the first thing I wanted to tackle was the viscosity of canned tomato juice—the texture just bothered me. So, I experimented with blending fresh tomatoes and using tomato water in place of the juice, and—sure enough—the cocktail became a guest favorite. A lighter texture and better balance made all the difference.
It’s important to approach bloody Marys with the same attention to balance you’d give any cocktail. With that in mind, here are a few practical tips:
- Pay attention to the heat level. Can you still taste the other ingredients, or has the spice bulldozed everything else?
- If you’re using Tabasco, keep in mind it’s vinegar-based, so be mindful of other acidic ingredients; tomatoes are already acidic, which is why I don’t typically add extra citrus.
- The same logic applies to salty components. If you’re using clam juice, dial back the celery salt or skip it entirely and opt for fresh celery instead.
- Bitters are a wonderful tool for balancing salt and acidity, so don’t hesitate to reach for them when experimenting with bloody-Mary recipes.
A Beloved Recipe
The first recipe I’m sharing is one of my favorites to enjoy alongside food—fresh, bright, and full of flavor, but beautifully light in texture.
My maternal grandmother’s name was Mary. She was very Greek, incredibly fun, and deeply colorful—a person who loved to laugh and treated life like one big party. She was, however, a lifelong teetotaler. She told a legendary story about the time she drank two glasses of champagne and kissed the priest’s “big bald head” at my christening. That was enough for her—she never had another sip. But she adored virgin Marys, ordering them in the afternoons with her friends.
It was Gladys who made my grandmother’s favorite virgin Mary. Sadly, Gladys passed before I was old enough to ask for the recipe, but my grandmother had asked many times over the years. Each time, Gladys would reveal just one more secret ingredient. As an adult, I made it my mission to re-create it, with my grandmother serving as the most discerning taste tester. We knew the recipe called for aromatic bitters—and for gin, when not made virgin. Her tomato juice was thin and light—I remember drinking plenty of virgin versions myself as a kid. We also knew she used jalapeño rather than hot sauce.
This is my version of Mary’s favorite bloody Mary, crafted with love and a nod to Gladys. It yields two drinks and is great for batching, but note that it doesn’t have a very long shelf life—so keep any extra in the fridge and use it within a few days or freeze any remaining mixture.
Mary & Gladys
2 large tomatoes
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp fresh horseradish
1 tsp Angostura bitters
½ oz lemon juice
2–3 jalapeño slices
4 oz dry gin
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until liquified. Using a mesh strainer, strain into a cocktail shaker, add cubed ice, and shake. Strain into a tall glass over cubed ice and garnish with a lemon and jalapeño slice.
Asian-Inspired
The bloody Mary is such a fun cocktail to play with using a culinary approach, and it’s great for food pairing. Asian-inspired ingredients are a joy to work with and can turn a classic bloody Mary into a memorable liquid experience.
East of Midnight (pictured at top)
2 oz vodka
3 oz Tomato Water (see below)
1 oz lime juice
1 Tbs sriracha
1 Tbs miso paste
1 tsp lemongrass paste
1 tsp finely chopped cilantro
½ tsp ginger paste
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice and shake well. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh cubes and garnish with cilantro and a spring onion. For extra flair, rim the glass with a mixture of coarse salt, dried cilantro, and black sesame seeds.
Tomato Water
1 lb fresh, ripe tomatoes
1 tsp salt
In a blender, blend tomatoes with salt, then strain through a cheesecloth over a large bowl; allow it to strain overnight in the refrigerator. Don’t press the solids; save those for a future sauce. Store the tomato water in the refrigerator.
Tequila Fans, Welcome to the Fiesta
Here we continue the culinary theme while swapping base spirits. Tequila makes a fabulous bloody-Mary base, especially when you incorporate components that enhance the earthy, fruit-forward flavors of tequila blanco.
La María Brava
2½ oz tequila blanco
3 oz tomato juice
1 oz dill pickle juice
1 oz finely chopped cucumber
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz spring water
1 tsp Cholula
½ tsp fresh horseradish
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice and shake well. Double-strain into a tall glass over fresh ice cubes. Garnish with a pickle spear and a lemon slice. Optionally, rim the glass with Tajin seasoning.
Grill & Chill
Now comes the whiskey.
When I first started working with whiskey in bloody Marys, I was repping bourbon, so that’s where I began. The challenge was twofold: balancing the bourbon’s sweet notes while ensuring those oaky, bold flavors didn’t steamroll everything else in the glass. It’s a fun challenge, and a delicious one.
After plenty of tinkering, I landed on a recipe that’s won over whiskey drinkers and nonwhiskey drinkers alike—and it’s been doing so for more than 20 years. The secret? Barbecue sauce. The mission? Finding the right barbecue sauce for your chosen whiskey.
Barbecue sauces span a wide range of flavor profiles and bases—some are savory, some sweet, some deeply smoky. Some are tomato-based, others are built on apple cider, mustard, or vinegar. Know your sauce and match it to your whiskey. I reach for a vinegar-based BBQ sauce with bourbon; the two are bold enough to hold their own. Tomato-based sauces pair beautifully with a spicy rye, and South Carolina–style mustard-and-brown-sugar sauces, used in moderation, are a natural match for American single-malts—especially the smoky ones.
This recipe is the perfect companion for backyard hangs and outdoor sipping, and it just might convert a few whiskey fans who’ve been turning up their noses at bloody Marys.
Grill & Chill
2 oz bourbon
2 oz tomato juice
1 oz vinegar-based barbecue sauce
1 oz lemon juice
½ oz sweet pickle juice
1 tsp Tabasco
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice and shake well, ensuring that the barbecue sauce has fully incorporated. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh cubed ice. Garnish with a celery stalk and pickle spear. Optionally, rim the glass with barbecue dry rub.
A Word on Snacks
By now, it should be clear just how far-reaching the possibilities are when it comes to bloody-Mary variations, and we've only scratched the surface.
You might also notice that the garnishes throughout these recipes are relatively restrained compared to the full-blown spectacle of modern bloody-Mary garnishes. And there’s a certain joy in the absurdity of it all, but somewhere between the slider, the chicken wing, the shrimp skewer, and the mini grilled-cheese sandwich balanced on the rim, the actual drink gets lost. By the time you wade through the garnish, the cocktail is diluted, separated, and, frankly, an afterthought.
My philosophy has always been that the drink itself should be the star. If you want snacks, put them on a plate. Your bloody Mary will thank you.
Italian Flair
I’ll leave you with one final recipe—one that holds a special place in my heart and on my Sunday table.
The Italiana Suprema is a labor of love, inspired by the bold, bright flavors of Italian cooking. It’s the most “dressed up” I ever get with a bloody Mary—and honestly, it’s worth every extra step. Pour yourself one, put on some good music, and enjoy a slow morning the right way.
Italiana Suprema
2½ oz vodka
3 oz Tomato Water (see East of Midnight, above)
1 oz lemon juice
1 tsp clam juice
1 tsp olive brine
1 tsp chile paste (preferably Calabrian)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 pinch white pepper
1 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice and shake well. Strain into a tall glass over fresh cubed ice. Garnish with a mozzarella-stuffed olive, cherry tomato, and fresh basil leaf. Optionally, drizzle a small amount of balsamic vinegar onto the rim of the glass, then sprinkle with coarse-ground salt and pepper.
Keep Tinkering
The bloody Mary is a cocktail with years of history, a cast of colorful characters behind its creation, and an almost unlimited capacity for reinvention.
It deserves more than a lukewarm reputation as a hangover cure or a brunch obligation. It deserves a seat at any table, at any hour, in any season.
So, whether you’re blending fresh tomatoes for the first time, reaching for a bottle of bourbon instead of vodka, or finally giving tequila a shot in the glass, treat the bloody Mary the way you would any great dish: with curiosity, care, and a willingness to make it your own.
Taste as you go, trust your palate, and don’t be afraid to break the rules. The best version of this cocktail is the one that makes you and your guests reach for another.