Bloody Mary
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 9.9% ABV ∙
A Bloody Mary is a stirred vodka cocktail built on tomato juice and lemon juice, seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt, and black pepper. Savory and peppery with a tangy tomato base, a slow chili heat building underneath, and a bright citrus lift on the finish — a classic brunch restorative.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Vodka 45 mlTomato juice 90 mlLemon juice 15 mlWorcestershire sauce 2 dashesSalt 2 pinchesBlack pepper 3 grinds and Hot pepper sauce 4 dashes
- Pour into rocks glass
- Garnish with a celery stick and a lemon wedge (opt.)
- Salt and Black pepper can be adjusted to taste
- Note: If requested served over ice, pour into a highball glass
Tips
- Or build it in a highball over large cubes with a brief 10-15 second stir — just enough to chill without over-diluting the tomato base.
- Add the Worcestershire, salt, pepper and hot sauce before the tomato juice so the seasoning dissolves evenly.
- Squeeze the lemon fresh right before stirring; bottled juice flattens it against the Worcestershire and hot sauce.
History
The Bloody Mary is a vodka-and-tomato-juice cocktail whose origin is disputed among several rival accounts. The most widely repeated story credits French bartender Fernand Petiot with developing the drink around 1921 at Harry's New York Bar in Paris, where American expatriates were mixing with Russian émigrés and the ingredients that would define the cocktail were already circulating.
Another claim credits comedian George Jessel with popularizing the name and an early version of the drink in the late 1920s, while Petiot later refined the recipe after moving to the King Cole Bar at New York's St. Regis Hotel, adding salt, black pepper, cayenne, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce to create the savory style associated with the modern Bloody Mary. The IBA version codifies that classic savory build as a standardized cocktail recipe.
FAQ
What is in a Bloody Mary IBA?
Vodka, tomato juice, and fresh lemon juice, seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt, and black pepper, stirred and served over ice. It is garnished with a celery stick and a lemon wedge in a highball glass.
Is a Bloody Mary IBA shaken or stirred?
Stirred. Tomato juice turns foamy and dull if shaken hard, so the ingredients are stirred together in the glass to stay clean and savory rather than aerated.
What glass is a Bloody Mary IBA served in?
A highball glass, built over ice and garnished with a celery stick and a lemon wedge.
What is the secret to a good Bloody Mary IBA?
Balance is the secret: build the seasonings in small increments and taste as you go, since Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce are both concentrated and easy to overdo. Fresh lemon juice over bottled also keeps the tomato base bright rather than flat.
