Bloody Maries, Bloody Well Done!

This week I decided to mix things up a bit and try a variation of Bittman's Bloody Mary recipe on page 802 of the softcover variety.  Some friends of mine have been on a vodka infusion kick for the last year or so and have made garlic and hot pepper infused vodkas a staple of their highly regarded bloodies.  I asked them for some advice and took it upon myself to infuse some flavors of my own!

 

 

 

Definitely Grey Goose

I started with a bottle of the very cheapest vodka available at Dinkytown Liquors (not sure if I should be impressed or offended by their wide selection of sub $10 litres of vodka).  I was told to split the bottle and go half and half, dividing the hot pepper and garlic flavors so they could be combined and tweaked in the final making of the bloody.  For the hot variety, I put 2 crushed dried thai chilies in a tea bag, then added 3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  They really add a nice, deep smokey flavor that supports the heat nicely.   For the garlic, I added about 4 tablespoons chopped garlic and maybe 4 sprigs of fresh oregano that I have growing in the kitchen.  This was done Friday afternoon for a party on Saturday, so all in all they sat for about 30 hours.

 Having let the ingredients party sufficiently, the final production was begun.  Lacking Worcestershire sauce like Bittman recommends, I was reduced to using soy sauce and fish sauce instead.  I also added lemon juice, some salt and pepper and a spot of cumin along with the V8 juice.

Working with a ratio of about 1 part hot vodka:1 part garlic vodka:3 or 4 parts V8 juice, the Bloody was damn hot with a nice addition of smoke and garlic.  The lack of Worcestershire was a bummer as I think it would have added just the right touch; while powerfully flavored, these Bloodies ended up lacking the complexity of flavor I've enjoyed in others. 

I'm calling this whole operation a success, and I'll have to go back to the drawing board and improve the juice and flavor side of things but the infused vodkas will be a staple of my bloodies from now on.