Bloody Mary is a cocktail traditionally containing vodka, tomato juice and other flavourings including Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce like Tabasco. The origin of its name is not clear, some stories suggest it was named after a waitress named Mary who worked at a bar called The Bucket of Blood in Chicago. Others claim it was named after Queen Mary in honour of her particularly bloody reign in the 16th century. While unconfirmed, I vote we go with the Royal connection as it ties things together nicely with the Kings Coronation and our current ‘Breakfast Fit for a KING’ Competition!

Unlike most cocktails Bloody Mary’s are synonymous with breakfast or brunch – hence why we love them so much! They are enjoyed ‘the morning after the night before’ or as ‘hair of the dog’ with almost spiritual reverence as the only drink (other than Irn Bru of course) capable of warding off the symptoms of a dreaded hangover due to the unique combination of ingredients. Tomato (helps settle the stomach), salt replenishment and alcohol, which while it makes you feel better in the moment, really just kicks the can down the road, but hey ho, anything to enjoy a proper fry up the morning after yeah?

Bloody Mary’s are traditionally served over ice in a tall glass and while the ingredients within the cocktail itself can vary quite a bit, more on that in a minute, so too can the garnishes that finish off the final look. From simple celery to oysters and surf and turf, anything seems to go. Our favourite? Well it’s no surprise it involves bacon. More drinks should have a rasher of bacon sticking out of them in our opinion.

While vodka is the classic spirit of choice, Bloody Marys are more known for their creative reinterpretation of both ingredients and garnish than they are revered for their classic approach. We’ve partnered up with gin experts Stirling Distillery for this spicy gin twist on our favourite morning tipple.

GIN BLOODY MARY RECIPE (garnished with celery and bacon)

INGREDIENTS
50ml Stirling Battle Strength Gin
150ml tomato juice
Sea salt & Cracked black pepper
3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 lime – cut in half and then 1 half cut into 2 wedges
1 tsp horseradish sauce (mix well)
Fresh celery and cooked Simon Howie streaky bacon to garnish

DIRECTIONS
1. Start by coating the rim of a highball glass with a salt and pepper mix. You can do this by rubbing the rim of the glass with a piece of lime and then dipping it into a small dish of pre-mixed sea salt and cracked black pepper.
2. Fill the glass with ice and set aside.
3. In a cocktail shaker, add the gin, salt and pepper to taste, juice of half the lime, the tomato juice then the horseradish and Worcester sauce.
4. Add ice and shake well then strain into the highball glass.
5. Garnish with streaky bacon and celery plus any leftover lime wedges and serve with brunch!

Feeling thirsty and hungry? Enter our BREAKFAST FIT FOR A KING COMP to win a bunch of ‘bloody’ good brunching and gin goodies…