SavouryBrunchSpicy
Virgin Mary
A Bloody Mary without the vodka — which loses almost nothing, as long as you season it properly.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Serves
- 1
- Glass
- Highball
- Difficulty
- Easy
Ingredients
- 4 oz tomato juice
- 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce (check the label if you avoid anchovy)
- 3 dashes hot sauce
- Pinch of celery salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- Small pinch of grated horseradish (optional)
- Celery stick, lemon wedge and olives, to garnish
Method
- 1Fill a highball glass with ice.
- 2Add all the liquid ingredients and the seasonings.
- 3Roll the drink: pour it between the glass and a shaker tin three or four times. Don't shake it — shaking aerates tomato juice and turns it frothy and pale.
- 4Season to taste, then garnish with celery, lemon and olives.
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Notes
- Roll, don't shake. This is the single biggest difference between a good one and a bad one.
- Season at the end rather than the start — tomato juices vary enormously in salt.
- A splash of pickle brine or olive brine adds the savoury depth people miss when the vodka's gone.
Common questions
Is a Virgin Mary just tomato juice?
No — the seasoning is the drink. Lemon, Worcestershire, hot sauce, celery salt and pepper are what separate it from plain tomato juice, and the vodka contributes very little, which is why the non-alcoholic version holds up so well.
Make one of these next
- Virgin Bloody Maria
A Virgin Mary with smoke and heat. Better than the original if you like chilli.
- Virgin Michelada
Savoury, spicy and citrus-sharp, with a chilli-salt rim. The most interesting savoury drink you can make without alcohol.
- Mango Chilli Cooler
Sweet, hot and salty at once. The most interesting thing you can make from a frozen bag of mango.
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