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Big-Batch Bloody Mary Mix
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Enter the code at Amazon checkout. Ships from Amazon, and every purchase helps care for Freeman. Add-ons: 100 refill cards · 100 card sleeves. This recipe uses the XXL Silicone Bag, Blue (code BLUEBAG10).
Nobody wants to be measuring horseradish and Worcestershire in front of ten people at eleven in the morning. Make the mix the day before, leave it alone overnight so the flavors marry, and brunch becomes pouring. About a gallon covers sixteen drinks with room for the person who wants a virgin one. The mix is the recipe here; the vodka goes in the glass, never in the batch, so the same batch serves everybody and nothing goes to waste.
Ingredients
- 3 quarts tomato juice, good quality
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup prepared horseradish
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons celery salt
- 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/4 cup olive or pickle brine
- Celery, olives and lemon, to serve
Directions
- Whisk the lemon juice, Worcestershire, horseradish, hot sauce, celery salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder and brine together in a bowl until the dry spices are fully dissolved. Doing this first stops the paprika clumping in the juice.
- Divide the tomato juice between two XXL bags, about 6 cups in each, and add half the seasoning mixture to each bag. For one bag, halve the recipe.
- Press out the air, seal, and turn each bag over a few times to mix. A half-full sealed bag mixes better in ten seconds than a whisk does in a pitcher.
- Lay them flat in the fridge and leave them overnight, at least 12 hours. This is the step people skip and it is the one that makes the difference between a mix and a good mix.
- Taste cold before serving and adjust. Cold flattens salt and heat, so it will usually want more celery salt and more hot sauce than it did warm.
- Pour over ice, add vodka to each glass individually, and garnish with celery, olives and a lemon wedge.
Tips and variations
- Never put the vodka in the batch. Mix keeps for a week; a pre-mixed cocktail separates and cannot be served to anyone who is not drinking.
- Give it the full overnight rest. Horseradish and Worcestershire need hours to stop tasting like two separate things.
- Season it cold, not at room temperature. You will misjudge both the salt and the heat otherwise.
- Pickle brine is the cheapest upgrade in the recipe. Use whatever jar is open.
- For a smoky version, swap the hot sauce for 2 chopped chipotles in adobo and blend smooth before adding.
The bag this recipe is built around
A gallon of tomato juice is not going in a pitcher, and it has to sit overnight somewhere. Split across two XXL Blue bags, each one is half full, so you can flip it end over end to mix without straining the seal, and both lie flat on a fridge shelf instead of blocking one. Silicone does not stain from tomato and paprika the way plastic does, and it goes in the dishwasher after.
See the Blue XXL Bag
Common questions
- How long does homemade Bloody Mary mix last
- A week sealed in the fridge, and it improves for the first two or three days. Do not add vodka to the batch if you want it to keep.
- Should Bloody Mary mix rest before serving
- Yes. Give it at least 12 hours. Horseradish, Worcestershire and the dry spices need that long to stop tasting like separate ingredients.
- Can you freeze Bloody Mary mix
- You can, flat in a sealed bag for up to three months, though the horseradish loses some bite. Refresh it with a spoonful of fresh horseradish after thawing.
- What is the best tomato juice for Bloody Marys
- A thick, well-seasoned one you would drink on its own. Thin juice makes a watery drink that no amount of seasoning rescues.
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