You can save the bloody mary toppings. Leave me with a fresh lemon-forward batch of bloody marys with an olive on top, and I am a happy girl. This large pitcher will serve a crowd, and because it doesn’t use a gelatinous pre-mixed bottle of goo (can you tell I do NOT like premixed bloody marys), it is fresh and convinced me that bloody marys are worth all the fuss! It’s perfect for Christmas brunch, and there’s still time to find these simple ingredients, of course (any holiday procrastinators out there like me?).
This recipe was really fun for me to create because it turned me into a FAN of this cocktail! It bypasses the pre-made mix. (Yes, some of your favorite store mixers have MSG in them, I am sorry to say.) And it is just as easy because tomato juice is the base. I wanted this to be light (I added more lemon than is generally used in recipes), hot (Tabasco, horseradish, and onion powder), and fresh (ice and vodka)! I do not want a meal on top of my drink, so I limited the garnish to a slice of celery and a squeeze of lemon wedge. Cheers!
Batch Bloody Mary
Serves 20 (in a 10-ounce rocks glass filled with ice)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon celery salt
2 ½ cups lemon juice
7 ½ cups tomato juice (I like Sacramento, Knudsen, Meijer, or True Goodness organic)
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I like Tabasco)
6 cups vodka
20 stalks celery, washed, sliced, and ends trimmed
4 lemons, sliced into 8 wedges each
In a glass measuring cup, combine the onion powder, salt, and celery salt. Slowly add in lemon juice, stirring with a whisk to combine in order to avoid lumpy powdered spices in your cocktail!
After adding all of the lemon juice, transfer this mixture to a gallon container, then add tomato juice, horseradish, Worcestershire, and hot sauce. Shake well. Next, add the vodka and, again, shake well to combine. This cocktail can be made up to one day ahead of when you intend to serve.
After pouring from the gallon container into a serving pitcher, guests can pour into a highball filled with ice and garnish with one stalk celery and a lemon slice.
Purchase the Lark Cocktails book for dozens more great recipes! #livinglark
