Summer Cocktails: Bloody Marys, Made From Scratch

There is nothing wrong with store bought juice but I love making cocktails using the freshest ingredients!  I decided to try my hand at making bloody marys from scratch.  That means fresh tomatoes and the tomatoes are heavenly this time of year!

I used a slow cooker (easy!) to cook my tomatoes so it was a really simple process.  There's no peeling or removing seeds.

Full Disclosure: Feel free to use store bought juice for these but if you are ready to step up your game, then go for it!

Recipe after the jump.

Fresh Tomato Juice

20 fresh tomatoes on the vine, quartered and stem end removed

2 tsp. sea salt

Place tomatoes and salt in a slow cooker set on low.  Cook for 6 hours.  Press tomatoes through a fine mesh strainer into a large mixing bowl.  Make sure to press out the majority of the juice.  You will need to juice the tomatoes in batches, discarding the pulp as you go.  (I promise, it goes fast!)

If you have a juicer, you can use that instead to juice the tomatoes but don't waste the juice in the bottom of the slow cooker!  Be sure to put that through the strainer.

Pour the juice into a large pitcher.  Cover and put in the refrigerator until it is at least room temperature or until you are ready to use it.

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Bloody Mary Mix (makes a large pitcher)


7 cups tomato juice (fresh or store bought - fresh will be slightly less concentrated but very refreshing!)
1 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lime
fine sea salt
freshly ground pepper
lemon slices (for floating in the pitcher)
lime slices (for floating in the pitcher)

Combine tomato juice, horseradish, Worcestershire, Tabasco, lemon juice, and lime juice into a large pitcher.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add a few lemon and lime slices on the top.

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Bloody Mary


Bloody Mary mix
vodka (I use Belvedere.)

Feel free to salt the rim of the glass.  (I like mine salted.)  Fill glass with ice.  I usually add 1 1/2 oz. of vodka but this depends on the size of your glass.  Fill the rest of the glass with the mix.  Stir.

Garnish as you desire.  I like a celery stalk and a lemon wedge but if I am hosting a party, I like to provide a selection of garnishes.  In the photograph above (click on it to see the full picture), I show the following: grape tomatoes, Spanish olives, Calamata olives, cornichons,  radish slices, celery spears, lemon wedges, lime wedges, sea salt (for rimming the glass), a selection of hot sauces, green onions, cilantro and cucumber spears.  I also like to provide bamboo skewers (so that friends can assemble a skewer of garnishes) and straws.

Enjoy!