One of the most welcome beverages for brunch (or any time of the day or evening) is a Bloody Mary! And if you’re in luck, there will be a ” build your own Bloody Mary bar “!
Everyone’s tastes are so different. Some like them hot, others like them plain and simple, and then there are those of us who like a loaded Bloody Mary. So providing a Bloody Mary bar with lots of options for mixing and matching . . . well it just makes everyone happy, no matter how diverse their preferences.
Creating a Bloody Mary bar is very simple really. It just takes a little bit of creative ingenuity and some time to set things out in an enticing presentation. Take ingredients OUT of their jars and cans and into nice bowls, trays, and carafes. But if you don’t have many of these, that’s ok too. The point is to have lots of delicious options!
Let’s start with the fun stuff to build a Bloody Mary bar!
The GARNISHES!!
The BASIC Must-Haves :
- Celery stalks WITH the leaves ON
- Carrot sticks
- Limes
- Lemons
- Green olives
Then add the extra goodies on your Build a Bloody Mary Bar:
- Pickle spears
- Mini gherkin pickles
- Pepperoncini
- Cherry tomatoes
- Black olives
- Pickled asparagus
- Fresh green beans
- Pickled beets
- Pickled jalapeños
- Baby corn
- Artichoke hearts
- Large caper berries
- Marinated cocktail pearl onions
- Okra
- Cucumber slices
- Garlic cloves
Offer protein options:
- Cooked, THICK, smoked bacon
- Cooked shrimp
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Sliced hot salami or soprassetta
- Chunks of cheese (I use Pepper Jack)
- Pepperoni sticks
- Crumbled blue cheese or feta cheese
- Cubes of cooked steak
Provide liquid flavor options on a Build a Bloody Mary Bar:
- Tobasco Sauce
- Frank’s Hot Sauce
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Horseradish Sauce
- 57 Steak Sauce
- Louisiana Hot Sauce
- Siracha
- Cholula
- Pickle juice
- Green Olive juice <—- Very difficult to find in stores!
- Lime juice
- Lemon juice
Don’t forget an array of dry seasonings:
- Celery salt
- Garlic salt
- Lemon pepper
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Seasoned salt
- Coarse sea salt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
- Red pepper flakes
Include a variety of juices:
- Regular unflavored tomato juice
- V-8 Juice, both hot and spicy and unflavored
- Zing Zang
- Charleston Bold & Spicy
Here are some great products that you’ll love when preparing your Bloody Marys!
PIN FOR LATER!
Roz's ULTIMATE Bloody Mary
Ingredients
- 8 oz. spicy Bloody Mary mix (Charleston Bold and Spicy or Zing Zang)
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup crushed ice
- ½ tsp. creamy hot horseradish
- ½ Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp. Tabasco sauce
- several dashes Cholula chili lime hot sauce
- several dashes Cholula chipotle hot sauce
- several dashes Sriracha hot chili sauce
- pinch of celery salt
- pinch of garlic salt
- pinch of onion salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly-cracked black pepper
Spicy Rim Mixture
- Several pinches of wasabi powder
- 1 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash extra spicy seasoning blend
- 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
- Skewer Garnish options:
- Large stuffed green olives
- Large black olives
- Pickled okra
- Chunks of cheese
- Pickled beets
- Cooked shrimp
- Hot pepperoncini
- Celery stalks with leaves
- Lime and Lemon wedges
- Dill pickles
- Pickle asparagus
- Garnish: Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Instructions
- Prepare garnishes first so that they are ready when the Bloody Mary is completely blended OR if using a Bloody Mary Bar, then allow guests to assemle their own garnish skewers.
- Pour desired amount of vodka in each glass.
- Add tomato juice of choice.
- Add any garnish, season, spice preferred.
- Taste and add more of your preferred ingredients.
- Dip the rim of a glass into about a quarter-inch of water or olive oil poured on a small plate.
- Then mix the rim mixture on a small plate.
- Dip thew wet rim of the glass into the hot and spicy rim mixture and twist.
- Pour the Bloody Mary mixutre into a glass and garnish with bacon slices, celery stalks with leaves, carrot sticks, and skewered olives, pickled okra, cherry tomatoes (whatever you like).
- Sprinkle gorgonzola crumbles on top.
Recommended Products
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Can I invite myself to your party? LOL Gorgeous drink and photos, Roz.
Happy New Year!
I’d love to have you over even without a party, Angie! You would be such an amazing guest!
Happy New Year!
Roz
Talk about interesting timing. I’m sitting here reading this post and my husband who is across the room asks “So we are having bloody Mary’s today?” . 🙂 You bet cha!!!! It’s only 10 am here, but, after reading this, I’m ready to jump up and make one. Mine are so boring compared to yours. You’ve given me a couple of ideas to jazz mine up today. I love the addition of the greens olives and wasabi. I have both so it’s a great day to give something new a try. Here’s a toast to having a great first day of 2021 my friend! XOXO
Oh MJ, that is so serendipitous! It’s so cool when that happens! Bobby must have read our minds and 10:00 is the perfect time for a Bloody Mary (on the weekends) I think for what it’s worth.
Cheers, my friend,
Roz