Bloody Mary Mix

[LaLa]

The other day I was watching Booby Flay on something...maybe Rachael Ray's show and he was talking about the best mix for bloody marys...does anyone know what it was...or have a suggestion of their fave?Thanks !

[mollyomormon]

I like Sting Ray as mentioned above and I also love the Pain is Good line of mixes:

http://www.painisgood.com/pains.asp?s...

[crt]

I just visited the Zing Zang web provided by clarkafella. $44.00 a pop for a bottle of Bloody Mary mix??? OUCH! Holy highway robbery Batman! Talk about burning a whole in wallet/pocketbook!!! Again, I'll stick with Picante Clamato Cocktail Juice and use my wheelbarrel to cart home the money I'll save. Seriously, as I stated in my earlier post here the Clamato allows me more control over flavoring the cocktail with the other ingredients I use in MSBSC.

[Clarkafella]

Um... that price is actually for a case of 12 bottles of the 32 ounce size. I can see where it is kind of confusing on the site, but I believe that it is actually less than $4 a bottle....

[crt]

Whew! Thanks for the clarification. Should've thought to click on the 'Bloody Mary Mix' hyperlink. Still, even though I can't exactly remember what I paid for my last bottle of Clamato, I don't think it was anywhere near $4. As always each to his own. By your comments on Zing Zang I know you enjoy it, and in the end, that's what counts!

[Clarkafella]

Well, actually I have become a convert to V-8, collard juice, hot sauce, salt, pepper and horseradish- and of course some cheapo vodka!

[crt]

Horseradish hmm...I loves me some horseradish! Never thought about putting it in MSBSC, but it does sound like it has some potential! By the way, since you mentioned the horseradish and hot sauce sounds like you like some heat in your Bloody Mary. You should check out the ingredients in MBSWC over on the Spirits board. Besides the Clamato Picante I add crushed birds eye chili along with the rest of the ingredients! Oh, Clarkafella, there is no 'cheapo' vodka...vodkas vodka, Some of it just put up in more expensive bottles (lol).

[dinner belle]

My local grocery store carries Zing Zang -- have you looked around?

[crt]

No thanks to the Zing Zang or others labled as 'Bloody Mary' mixers, 'dinner belle'. For the reasons I've stated in other posts I will only use Clamato Picante Cocktail Juice as my mixer whether in a traditional Bloody Mary or for my Spicy Bloody Shrimpwreck Cocktail.

[crt]

"...or have a suggestion of their fave?Thanks !"

The only 'mixer' I will ever use and recommend is Picante Clamato Cocktail Juice (see My Spicy Bloody Shrimpwreck Cocktail [MSBSC] recipe). I've tried a few of the mixers labled as 'bloody mary mixers' and found them to be way too thick or dark or over seasoned. Just plain awful. The Clamato allows me more control over flavoring the cocktail with the other ingredients I use in MSBSC. If you prefer not spciy just use the Clamato Cocktail Juice.

[vonwotan]

We really love Sting Ray from Blue Crab Bay Co. All of the ingredients are fresh and local from the Chesapeake Bay.

[ktmoomau]

Sting Ray is my favorite too, and it has won lots of awards.

[MakingSense]

My own homemade is better than any commercial mix. It's so easy to make tomato juice from fresh or canned tomatoes and spice it any way you want.
In the summers when I had far too many tomatoes from the garden, I canned quarts and quarts of it and gave it as hostess gifts. A bottle of your homemade Bloody Mix and Vodka is a great Christmas present too.

[alkapal]

any ideas for lower sodium (mixes and v-8 so high) bloody mary?

[MakingSense]

The low-sodium V-8 is pretty good. Doctor it up. All the commercial mixes are over the top on sodium. I make my own when I can. Just get a tomato juice recipe and experiment until you develop one you like. I never would have thought of it until a really picky friend of mine over on the Eastern Shore served it and it was so much better than anything out there. Not hard, you just have to plan ahead.

[dhedges53]

I couldn't agree more on the sodium content of commercial mixes. And, of course, the sodium content of so many commercially processed foods, truly puts me off. It makes sense to make your own, from your own tomatos, or from those that you might find at the farmers market. Excellent, truly superb.

[alkapal]

i wonder if grape tomatoes pureed would be a good start?

[MakingSense]

You could, but they're too expensive. The best, of course, would be summer tomatoes but we've missed the season for those this year. Remember next year that this is an ideal use for the surplus of those salad tomatoes that aren't good for making sauces because they're too watery. That's when I first started making Bloody Mary Mix.
Since you're going to cook the tomatoes anyway, it's fine to use canned tomatoes.
When I first started making my own tomato juice, I began with the basic recipe in the original Joy of Cooking (1931) which is very simple and adaptable.
For every 4 cups of tomatoes add 1 teaspoon of salt (which you probably wouldn't if you use canned) and add vegetables of your choosing suitable for soup (onions, carrots, celery with tops, garlic, etc.) plus bay leaf, herbs, and other spices to taste. Simmer the tomatoes until the juice from them "flows freely." Strain it. Chill and serve. Or you can freeze or can it for later use.
I've made Bloody Mary mix with both fresh and canned tomatoes and both were very successful. If you buy institutional size cans of tomatoes packed in juice - not purée - it's a lot cheaper than commercial mixes and much fresher tasting too. Obviously, you can control the sodium as well as any other flavorings and the thickness.

[alkapal]

making sense, thanks for the recipe and tips!

[LaLa]

this sounds out of this world.

http://johnbscigarblog.blogspot.com/

[Muskrat]

Trader Joe's makes a pretty good low-sodium fake V-8 ("Garden Patch," I think). It would need doctoring -- hot sauce at the very least -- but it's a low-sodium way to start. Not to mention helping you fill your daily ration of vegetables!

[crosby_p]

Zing Zang for me too...yummy

[Clarkafella]

Just discovered something else- I'm eating a big bowl of collard greens and cornbread (it doesn't get much better than that!), and on a whim, I added a little of the "pot liquor" from the collards into my Bloody Mary- wow!

[LaLa]

Oh my that does sound fantastic!

[bubbles4me]

Sounds delicious. If I end up with a mix that has too much sweetness for me I add some olive juice it is really good too, a Dirty Bloody Maru if you will.

[invinotheresverde]

I've been adding the olive brine forever, too. It really provides extra flavor. I always use a low-sodium tomato juice/V-8 with the brine; otheriwse it's way, way too salty.

[steve h.]

tabasco bloody mary mix is pretty good. best i've tried so far.

[Clarkafella]

Funny you should ask- I am sipping on a delicious Bloody Mary right now! Our favorite mix ix Zing Zang:

http://zingzangcom.easystorecreator.com/

If you check the list of ingredients, they are certainly better than most. I couldn't believe how many Bloody Mary mixes had high fructose corn syrup as a primary ingredient!

We ran out of Zing Zang earlier in the evening, and are using V-8 now, and it is pretty good also- just need to add garlic-stuffed olives, salt and fresh ground pepper, celery seed, and some Sriracha hot chili sauce!

[GIAD]

Oh yes, I concur, this is another DELICIOUS mix!

[GIAD]

Longbranch Bloody Mary Zinger
YUM!
http://www.bloodymarymix.com/

[bubbles4me]

I did not catch the show but I LOVE the Stirrings Bloody Mary Mix, I still add some lemon and a touch more pepper but it is my favorite and I have tried most.