Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Bloody Mary




 
I bet I have a bloody mary story with just about every one of you.  They’ve gotten me in more trouble… and hence, more fun!...than any other drink.  I can’t stop drinking them:  at the beach, by the pool, during football games,  belly up to the bar nursing a hangover…”want another bloody mary?”…OKAY!!  I can never say no :(
 
mmmmmmmmm....
 
Preparing for this post, my friends and I did the taste test first.  We tested 3 of our favorite vodkas that coincidentally we just happened to have on hand —purely in the interest of science—I knew Absolut would be the one but no need to be hasty…and here’s what happened:
Tito’s:   So good, but it has almost no flavor.  This equals one thing = dangerous!!  All this is gonna do is make you keep drinking until you’ve had almost the whole bottle and then you’re gonna get sick and all THAT’S gonna do is make you feel bad and people will make fun of you.  Plus, it’s made of corn so it has kind of a sweet finish—save it for the sea breezes and pure mixed drinks where it can really shine.
NEEEEEXT…
Grey Goose:  Sooooo smooth.  Too smooth for this drink, because really--I just wanna know it’s working.  Working to cure my hangover, to make brunch do-able when your relatives are driving you crazy, to make for the best tailgating party of the year…I wanna know.  And for the money, it’s not worth wasting it in a drink where the mix is so overpowering.  Save the smoothness that Grey Goose is known for for your ice cold, shaken martini with 3 bleu cheese olives…

NEEEEEEXT…
Absolut:  The old stand-by.  Perfect cost, perfect bite, perfect perfect perfect for the bloody mary.  Perfect.  And I can tell from the first sip that it’s "gonna work".
Now as for mixes, there’s only one we need to talk about.  Back in the day it was Mr. and Mrs. T’s, which is still good in a pinch like on a plane or in the hotel mini-bar.  I’m never gonna turn it down.  But we’ve evolved.  Then after college, I believed V-8 mixed with fresh lemon and your own spices was the way to go, and we’d mix it in cleaned gallon milk jugs and each one of us would get our own for the football game (this is why they get me in so much trouble…lol).  All good…until I found Zing Zang.
About 6 or 7 years ago, I discovered this delicous mix and have been zinging and zanging all over the country ever since.  It has all the perfect spices already in it, and it’s beefy, full-bodied, and tomatoey amazing.  If you make your own mix, it won’t  be this good.  Promise.  Go buy it today!
The drink shown above is served like they used to at Campiello's here in Naples, FL.  About 10 years ago, if you ordered a bloody mary, they'd bring it to you with a small pilsner of beer (and if you know enough to ask, they still will).  The effervescent carbonation of which is a perfect foil for the thickness of the bloody mary.  Serve it like this and you won't be sorry--

So:  call some friends, make brunch, turn on the game, and you have an afternoon worth remembering (or if it’s really good…NOT remembering…lol).  And invite ME…I’d love to join you! :)
 
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WHAT TO BUY:

1 bottle Absolut vodka, icey cold right out of the freezer
1 bottle Zing Zang bloody mary mix
fresh lemons, cut into wedges
Lawry's seasoned salt
Bud Light

optional:
olives, garlic pickles, pepperoncini, dilly beans, celery

Pour some seasoned salt in a shallow dish.  Rub rim of glass with lemon wedge.  Dip rim in seasoned salt.  Fill glass with ice.  Add as much vodka as you'd like, fill remainder of glass with Zing Zang.  If you have it, add 1 teaspoon olive juice, and mix well.  Add any garnishes you'd like, and finish with fresh squeezed lemon over the top.   Serve with a small pilsner of Bud Light on the side.

ignore the santa-suite wearing prosecco and the pinot noir in this picture...they were for later :)

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