Vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco are the basic ingredients of a bloody mary, but what happens if you get 11 different bartenders to make their version of the same cocktail? From the luxury of the Plaza Hotel to home mixologists, see how these bartenders put their own spin on the classic bloody mary.
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00:00At the Plaza Hotel, this is one of our top sellers.
00:19I don't even have to put it on a menu for it to be popular.
00:22And I probably sell 25 a day, at least.
00:24I make our own horseradish infused vodka and then I tape it because when a bartender grabs
00:29a bottle from the bar, they grab the tape first.
00:32And if there's tape there, they know that there's something else in it besides the spirit.
00:36I'm going to start with two ounces of my horseradish infused vodka, right into the glass.
00:41And then I finish with the Bloody Mary mix.
00:44I've already pre-made my Bloody Mary mix.
00:47For a good Bloody Mary mix, you really have to be batching because like anything, it really
00:51needs to marinate.
00:52It needs to sit overnight.
00:54We go through 12 liters a week.
00:56Cup it off like this, halfway.
00:59And then goes a beautiful piece of celery and ice.
01:06Everyone uses their own garnishes.
01:07Ours gets a cucumber, a lemon, and a jumbo shrimp that's been seasoned with Old Bay seasoning.
01:14And that goes right in here for everyone to enjoy.
01:18We're making a Filipino Adobo Bloody Mary.
01:20I take a culinary approach to cocktails.
01:22Three important ingredients in an adobo.
01:25Taking three toasted bay leaves, three crushed pieces of garlic, and about a tablespoon of
01:32toasted black peppercorn.
01:34I like to use vodka for my Bloody Mary, so we're going to use Truman vodka, which is
01:38made by Hans Reisbauer.
01:40And another Austrian product that we're going to be using for this is going to be the ISI
01:44can.
01:45We're going to quickly infuse it.
01:47It's called a rapid ISI infusion.
01:50We're going to charge it.
01:52We shake it.
01:53We let it sit for about 15 minutes.
01:55So 15 minutes passed.
01:56We're going to release all the gas.
02:00So this is kind of a newer technique that's been introduced into bartending in the last,
02:05you know, five to 10 years.
02:06It's a good way to quickly get flavors into a cocktail.
02:10Boom.
02:11So if you can smell this, it smells heavily of garlic, toasted black peppercorn, and bay
02:17leaf.
02:18We're going to do an ounce and a half of our rapid infusion.
02:20I really like to use, for my bar programs, already made great Bloody Mary mixes.
02:25So we're going to do three ounces of the Fever Tree Bloody Mary mix.
02:30Then I also add my own spices to it, a black peppercorn tincture.
02:34We're going to do a half ounce of sweet soy to it.
02:37Worcestershire sauce in a traditional Bloody Mary is used to kind of give that umami, richness,
02:41deeper, darker tones.
02:43Soy sauce is going to give it to us here.
02:45And then I'm going to use a half ounce of datuputi vinegar.
02:48Every Filipino knows this and has this in their house.
02:51It's a Filipino vinegar made from sugar cane.
02:53We're going to take some ice cubes now, and we're going to add it to our Hamilton Beach
02:59blender.
03:00It's usually made to make milkshakes, but I like to mix my Bloody Marys in here because
03:05it slightly emulsifies it.
03:08I'm pretty lazy.
03:09I don't like to shake too much, so I like to use something that can shake for me.
03:14So I have this glass rimmed with what I call a mirepoix salt, so there's a little bit of
03:19dehydrated carrot, smoked onion salt, and celery salt.
03:22And we're going to garnish it with thinly sliced Vidalia onion and bay leaf with some
03:27peppercorns.
03:28Just going to slide that in there.
03:31Filipino adobo Bloody Mary.
03:33I work at an Italian restaurant, specifically Tuscan in the West Village in New York City,
03:37and I am proud to say that we do not serve any Bloody Marys at all, thank God, because
03:41an a la carte Bloody Mary is a complete nightmare.
03:43I would say the Bloody Mary and the Mojito are probably the two cocktails that bartenders
03:48fear the most when you're at 8 o'clock and you're 7 tickets in.
03:51If it's not pre-batched, it's a nightmare to have to make during service.
03:55I mean, at the end of the day, at home, a Bloody Mary is a great cocktail.
03:58This specific recipe that I use, I think, is one of the best I've ever tasted.
04:01A Bloody Mary is sort of food in a glass, so we're going to start off with a lot of
04:06seasoning.
04:07I have premixed.
04:08I've sort of channeled my inner Julia Child here, and I'm going to add a little salt,
04:11pepper, paprika, as well as some celery salt, and then I'm going to add just a couple dashes
04:16of Tabasco, and then a tiny bit of Worcestershire sauce.
04:19So I do a traditional tomato, no Clamato or anything like that, and I'm going to do four
04:23ounces of this, and then just a half an ounce of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and then our
04:31base spirit, which is going to be a citrus vodka.
04:34I feel like a citrus vodka really adds a lot to the cocktail.
04:39Excuse me.
04:44And so we're going to do an ounce and a half of that guy.
04:47So what I'm going to do is I'm going to add some ice to my tin, and then I'm going to
04:52pour my cocktail into our tin, and then I'm going to pour it back and forth.
04:56So this is a technique called rolling.
04:58I just want to have my cocktail nice and rolled and mixed all together, all of those spices
05:04get mixed up without that aeration.
05:07And then we're going to garnish.
05:09Bloody Mary's a party, right?
05:10So you have lots of garnishes.
05:11We're going to do a piece of celery in there, we'll do some olives in there, do a lime wheel
05:15in there.
05:16And something a mentor of mine taught me back in the day was that when you serve a cocktail,
05:20you want to serve it where the garnishes are facing the guest at a two o'clock angle.
05:24So instead of actually having it like this where you can't drink it, you can sort of
05:29bring it up on a side angle like this, and now it's not in your face.
05:33You actually can get the garnish aromas and all that, but at the same time get your cocktail
05:36drink.
05:37And there's your Bloody Mary.
05:38Enjoy.
05:39I am the head bartender and partner at a classic cocktail bar.
05:43That is what we're known for, making cocktails.
05:46We open at four o'clock in the post meridiem.
05:48Our bar is an evening bar.
05:50Bloody Mary's are something you have with breakfast.
05:52I personally feel that a Bloody Mary is best when batched.
05:56For all the reasons previously mentioned, I didn't make a Bloody Mary today, but I've
06:00been provided one right here.
06:01Now I'm from Wisconsin, and if you're from Wisconsin, Bloody Marys must come with a beer
06:07chaser.
06:08They're not full beers.
06:09Wisconsin beer chasers usually come between three and seven ounces.
06:12This almost serves the same capacity as a pickleback would.
06:16This is the only way to drink a Bloody Mary in the state of Wisconsin.
06:19Hi guys, my name is Takuma from Matinez, New York City.
06:22My bar is kind of classic Japanese-style cocktail bar.
06:25So I'm going to make Macke Bech Bloody Mary.
06:28Bloody Mary is very popular in Japan.
06:31This flavor profile is peppery, very green, salano, like kind of spice component.
06:36I'm going to make a Bloody Mary twist.
06:39Because this is using the natural bee wax, you need to heat to make it very clean, open
06:45wax.
06:46Open the bottle.
06:47One of my favorite spirits is mascarpone.
06:49And also image of the Bloody Mary is savory, like fresh, veggie, also kind of like a salty.
06:55The mascarpone smokiness is good with that.
06:59So let's make it.
07:00So 30 ml of the Los Expro, and clear tomato water, 60 ml.
07:05This is a regular Italian tomato, blended and strained with a coffee filter.
07:11So one bar spoon of the horseradish, one piece of serrano, two slice of the cucumber.
07:18Nearby our bar, they have a market, they have always like fresh veggies.
07:23So I'm always pick that and try to make a cocktail.
07:26There are two pieces of cilantro, and blend with the hand blender.
07:34That's it.
07:40So I need lemon juice and simple syrup.
07:43This is a savory cocktail, and not sweet and more freshness.
07:47One more time blend it.
07:48The half salt lime, for the Bloody Mary, the salt is very important.
08:01I like the more kind of like a rock ice, not perfect shape, natural carving.
08:06So that's why I put like, you know, the side cut off.
08:18I always make sure the taste, after shake, you know, just throw on the top, enjoy.
08:29My name is Maureen Donoghue, I'm the owner of Donoghue's Steakhouse, family business
08:33runs 74 years.
08:35At Donoghue's, when it comes to Saturday or Sunday morning, we sell a tremendous amount
08:40of Bloody Marys.
08:41I usually make it in batch form, today I'm making it from scratch so you can learn exactly
08:45how to do it.
08:46It's impossible to serve it scratch every time because the quantity served out.
08:50I'm gonna put some ice in the glass, so we're gonna put some horseradish in.
08:53Should be a nice, fresh, ground horseradish with a lot of bite and a lot of flavor.
08:58My husband grows horseradish and cures it, takes a while for it to be cured.
09:02You get the zesty taste of it.
09:04Gonna put a couple of dashes of Tabasco.
09:06You have a little bit of Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and you give yourself a nice two ounce
09:10pour of Grey Goose.
09:11And then you have your tomato juice, make sure you shake it, because it settles at the
09:15bottom.
09:16The tomato juice is something I grew up with since I've been a little girl, it's been the
09:19only thing allowed in the house, and it mixes well.
09:21Then you're gonna squeeze a little lime, little lemon, and then we're gonna put the cup on
09:26top of it.
09:27I'm gonna shake it, and then you're gonna garnish it with celery stalk.
09:32Perfect way for a Saturday morning.
09:34So I work at The Bush, it is a lesbian bar in Bushwick.
09:38It's a very polite cocktail bar.
09:40During the week we have a lot of cute events, and then it turns into a somewhat debaucherous
09:44nightclub.
09:46It's Friday and Saturday night.
09:47We do not have Bloody Marys at The Bush, fortunately, and I have not made a Bloody Mary in a very
09:52long time.
09:53I think they're gross.
09:54It's like stuff you put on your oysters, but it's in a drink.
09:57All right, let's make a Bloody Mary.
10:00I stopped working brunch pretty early on in my 20s.
10:02It's a very demoralizing experience.
10:04So you're gonna start with vodka.
10:07I bought Bloody Mary mix to save myself some trouble today.
10:11It's pre-seasoned.
10:12It's still pretty bland, but it's a good place to start other than, you know, tomato juice.
10:17So I'm just gonna fill this to the top with this.
10:22And I'm gonna put some Tabasco sauce, couple helpings of horseradish.
10:27Usually you pre-batch all of this, so you're not really dealing with mixing all this crap
10:32in the glass.
10:33Like you just, whoop, you're done.
10:34Let's try it.
10:35Let's see what it needs.
10:36All right, it's good.
10:37Spicy.
10:38It's got a nice kick.
10:39I'm gonna skewer a couple olives as garnish.
10:40And I don't think a squeeze of citrus would really hurt this drink.
10:41And it looks cute.
10:42This is how I maybe would like it.
10:43My bar is Paradise Lost, and we specialize in modern tropical cocktails.
10:44Basically, a new nomenclature for what we used to formally call tiki cocktails.
10:45We have a lot of really fun, immersive decorations, as well as very flamboyant drinks with ingredients
10:46that you probably wouldn't expect from most places.
10:47This Bloody Mary is going to be inspired by the flavors of Filipino Escabeche, which is
10:48going to have some caramelized, sweet, and a little bit of a kick to it.
10:49It's gonna have a little bit of a kick to it.
10:50It's gonna have a little bit of a kick to it.
10:51It's gonna have a little bit of a kick to it.
10:52off, we're gonna have a really nice sparkling...
11:19Mimicking the flavors that you get from Worcestershire sauce,
11:21it gives it a little bit more of that very specific type
11:23of just onion and garlic spice
11:25you can't really get anywhere else.
11:27Bumping up that spice is going to be a little bit
11:29of chipotle tabasco sauce.
11:30Next up is going to be some lime juice
11:32just for some brightness.
11:33A little bit of freshly pressed ginger juice.
11:35This is going to be giving the bulk of the spice
11:37playing off of the allium dincture that we added in earlier.
11:39In order to kind of mimic those toasted
11:42but also sweet and caramelized notes,
11:43we're using some freshly pressed carrot juice,
11:46some sweet red bell pepper juice.
11:49Next up is going to be some pineapple juice,
11:51also super fresh.
11:52This is going to give it that tangy, sweet,
11:54and spicy flavor that you're looking for.
11:56In OG tiki bars, you would never see anyone make anything.
11:59There were a lot of folks who were just like
12:01behind the scenes in a hidden kitchen,
12:02just cranking out drinks.
12:03A really beautiful drink would just appear in front of you,
12:06adding on to the mystery and the experience.
12:08Switching it up from your traditional vodka,
12:09I'm actually going to be using a little bit of shochu,
12:12a Japanese distillate that has a really fun,
12:14funky flavor from the koji that's used in its production.
12:17It's time to go crackin'.
12:19In order to make a Bloody Mary,
12:22you don't really want to shake it
12:23because that'll just dilute and make everything else watery
12:27and all those really bold flavors.
12:28Rolling is an old school technique
12:29that does the same thing that shaking would do,
12:32but in a less aggressive way.
12:34It just basically emulsifies, combines,
12:36and dilutes all the flavors inside of your cocktail
12:39without making it too fizzy
12:41or watering it down too quickly.
12:42So this Bloody Mary is going to be served
12:44inside the Paradise Lost Zombie Glass,
12:47a glass that's traditionally used for serving zombies in,
12:50which is a traditional tiki cocktail.
12:51I'm going to be garnishing this Bloody Mary
12:53with a little pepperoncini, just for a pop of color.
12:56It's a nice, sweeter pepper,
12:57and we're also going to have a fun little silly straw.
13:00It's a perfect tropical spin on a traditional Bloody Mary.
13:03When you just need something that next morning,
13:05there's nothing better than a Bloody Mary.
13:07There are a million different ways of doing this,
13:09from very, very complicated to really simple.
13:12As a home bartender, I err on the side of more simple,
13:15so I will throw in some ice.
13:19Here we go, some Bloody Mary mix.
13:21I think Bloody Mary mix is fine for Bloody Marys at home
13:23because really, chances are,
13:25you're probably a little bit hungover
13:27or you need to make this pretty quickly.
13:28I am going to measure out the vodka in this one
13:30because you don't want it to be too heavy-handed of a pour
13:33first thing in the morning,
13:34but I am going to make it a double.
13:37We're going to add in some pepper, some Tabasco sauce.
13:42Give it a little bit of a shake.
13:43There's a little bit of room at the top
13:44because we have more ingredients to put in.
13:46A little bit of celery and then a little bit of olive,
13:50some fresh tomato.
13:51I love these tomatoes.
13:53Another olive, throw some cucumber in.
13:56There you go.
13:56That is a classic home Bloody Mary.
14:00I work currently in a vinyl cocktail bar.
14:03We open at 5 p.m.
14:05Never once have I ever received an order
14:07for a Bloody Mary.
14:09This isn't a cocktail I would particularly serve in my bar,
14:12but this is a recipe I like.
14:14So I'm going to rim this with a chili salt.
14:17So it's going to be an ounce and a half of vodka.
14:22I'm going to go in with half of an ounce of anchoreas.
14:26This is a poblano pepper liqueur.
14:28So it's a little bit spicy.
14:30It more just adds roundness and depth to the cocktail.
14:33Mezcal, just for a little bit of smoky quality
14:37to the cocktail.
14:38My next ingredient is actually fresh lemon juice.
14:41I think a Bloody Mary needs additional acidity.
14:45I'm just going to chop this off
14:46with a Bloody Mary mix that I made.
14:49So this is actually 50% Clamato juice.
14:53It's 50% tomato juice.
14:55A very, very intense hot sauce called El Yucateco,
14:59which is made from habaneros and a little bit of Worcestershire.
15:02The Clamato has almost like an MSG quality to it.
15:06So it just makes you want to continue to drink more.
15:08So I made this last night.
15:10I let it sit in my fridge.
15:12I don't think this is a cocktail
15:14that needs to be shaken or stirred.
15:16I just think it needs a little bit of movement in the glass
15:19to get everything combined.
15:20I have these beautiful dehydrated lemon meals.
15:24I think that looks really nice on the glass.
15:26I also, controversial, have a olive as well,
15:32which I think is going to look really beautiful.
15:37We never make Bloody Marys at my bar.
15:39We open at 5 p.m.
15:40and Bloody Marys tend to be more
15:42of a brunch restaurant type thing.
15:43I think bartenders have mixed opinions on Bloody Marys
15:48because usually it's an indication
15:50of you being stuck working the brunch shift.
15:52So because we're going to doctor a Bloody Mary mix,
15:54I'm going to build it in the glass.
15:56Normally you would just take the mix and the vodka
15:58and pour it over ice in your serving glass.
16:00I find that some of these mixes are just,
16:03they're not spicy enough for what I like.
16:04Using the Upstate Vodka from Upstate New York,
16:08not just a clever name.
16:09I have two ounces of vodka in there.
16:11I'm going to add the Bloody Mary mix.
16:12The reason my hand automatically goes here
16:14is when you've been working so long with a soda gun,
16:16there's been many times where the gun hits a piece of ice
16:19and shoots customers in front of you.
16:20I like a spicy Bloody Mary,
16:21so I'm going to put a pretty decent amount
16:23of horseradish in.
16:24I use Cholula for hot sauce
16:27and then just a little bit of Worcestershire sauce.
16:29I don't really know why it goes in there, but it does.
16:32And it's always done.
16:34And I guess it just balances the flavor a little bit.
16:36And then just going to put a little squeeze of lime juice.
16:38I just feel weird shaking the Bloody,
16:40so I just give it a good stir.
16:43And I'm going to go ahead and put some fresh ice
16:44in the glass.
16:49And then with the Bloody, the fun thing is the garnish.
16:51You can kind of do anything you want with it.
16:53I've gone to places where they have little mini burgers
16:55on top of the Bloody Mary, which is amazing,
16:56but I don't have time to make burgers for my customers.
16:59So this is my Bloody Mary.
17:02So cheers.
17:06You know what?
17:07That's perfect for a home Bloody Mary.
17:08It's got a good level of spice to it.
17:11Ooh, I want to go to brunch now.
17:13Video of me drinking a High Life.
17:14Put it on my epitaph.