Since One Bloody Mary is Never Enough...

Proud Mary.

Well, looks like you all know what both Gail and I did this weekend. Come Monday, each of us had separate ideas for Bloody Mary posts, completely independent of each other. I'd say something about great minds thinking alike, but I think drunk minds might be a more accurate description...

Anyway, I picked up the taste for my Mary after visiting Vic's on the River, a sort of gourmet southern food joint sitting high atop the Savannah River. The food was pretty good (collards were awesome, check out the recipe here), but the real attraction was this amazing Bloody Mary my girlfriend ordered. I wasn't even a huge fan of the spicy, tomato brunch beverage before this, but Savannahans - er, Savannites, whatever - really know a thing or two about booze before noon. Vic's Mary was super spicy, with a healthy dose of coarse ground black pepper and LOTS of celery salt. It was so good that after an all-night drunk on the River left me a bit hung over, I woke up the next morning and crawled my way into Vic's for another. It did the trick, to be sure.

Hit the jump for the recipe.

I've spent the last two months since my visit to Vic's perfecting my own version of the cocktail. This is what I've come up with, and while Chef Max's version sounds more complex in flavor (and technique!), this Mary is a damn good one too.

4 oz tomato juice - I was using Publix Organic tomato juice, but to be honest the regular sort has a thicker consistency and condensed flavor that seems to work better. Maybe I was using the wrong brand, so feel free to suggest another.

2 Dashes of Worcestershire sauce
.5 to 1 oz of Tabasco sauce
Juice of 1 lime (or lemon if you prefer sour to tart)
About 1 tsp of celery salt - Maybe less, maybe more. I use a lot. It tastes gooood.
6-8 grinds of coarse ground black pepper - texture and flavor!
2.5 oz of Absolut Peppar - regular vodka will do as well.

Mix the ingredients in a shaker cup. Rim the glass using the lime and then coat it with a mixture of 1 part kosher salt, 1 part celery salt, 1 part chili powder. Fill with ice, pour in your brew, and then garnish with okra, olive, and a wedge of lime. Repeat. Many times.

-- John Linn (Spammers are beaten!)