Weird And Wonderful Bloody Marys

One minute she's a chica with a spicy Mexican accent from south of the border, the next she's a charming Southern belle with a penchant for replacing vodka with bourbon and a devil-may-care attitude; she can also surprise you with her come-hither exotic South Asian flavors. Despite greatly exaggerated claims by obsessed fans, however, the Bloody Mary, no matter how many garnishes are added to it, probably does not meet recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables.

This Bloody Mary verison gets its name from Elixir, a neighborhood saloon in San Francisco whose owner, H. Joseph Ehrmann, specializes in hand-crafted cocktails. While this Mary was born on the West Coast, we think it should be the Chesapeake region's Bloody mascot. To get the spicy flavors just right, be sure to rim the glass with Old Bay Seasoning and don't leave out the Elixir Juice and dried dill or you won't truly experience Bloody nirvana. For a more Chesapeake-style garnish, stab a freshly fried oyster, lemon wedge, and dill pickle onto a wooden skewer.

A few years back, Chef Jose Garces, developed 10 "globally-inspired" Mary recipes for Renaissance Hotels and the Gotham Mary is a clear, golden-hued beauty dedicated to one of New York City's most iconic foods: the everything bagel. We think it's the Bloody Mary to serve for breakfast/brunch with your favorite bagel, lox, and cream cheese — but forget about a sliced tomato: there's tomato water for that. Trust us, the savory, nutty flavors of sesame seeds and poppy seeds on the rim of the glass will clinch it. 

Sometimes there's a fine line between genius and insanity, and celebrity chef Chris Cosentino walks that fine line with his Roman Mary. Only a chef could come up with a Bloody Mary recipe made with beer, green olives, oysters, tomatoes, capers, chiles, fish sauce, and shallots. It's his go-to for brunch, so who are we to question genius? Mangia! Mangia! 

If want to know anything about how to cook authentic Mexican food, Rick Bayless, chef and owner of Frontera Grill, Topalabampo, etc. and TV celebrity and cookbook author, is the guy to talk to. He lives and breathes the culinary influences of Mexico, so when he creates his Mary-like Michelada, you can bet it will be packed with flavor. His take includes beer, tequila, citrus fruits, pomegranate, tomatoes, and Tabasco. 

Marc Matsumoto is a chef, recipe developer, and consultant whose website, norecipes, is mainly food-focused — but he created the Bloody Maharani, a curry- and gin-based Mary that can be happily paired with samosas and cumin-laced treats from the Indian subcontinent. 

Trend watchers already know that over the last few years, epicures have been dipping their toes into the drink-making biz while bartenders have been using prepared food ingredients and techniques to make their drinks. The influence of Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese cuisines has done the same for Bloody Marys. We found this Asian Mary recipe at the website, Gastro Chic. But don't let its pedestrian name fool you; it fully embraces the heat and complex flavors of Japanese nanami togarashi spice mix, sriracha, and wasabi.  

Crazy ingredients, spirits, and more have been sacrificed in the name of the Bloody Mary, but Sobelman's Pub & Grill in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has to win the prize for most outrageous size and garnish with their. This baby is a hefty 80 ounces of spicy, savory booze topped with a whole fried chicken in addition to the standard garnish of asparagus, pickled onions, celery, pickles, olives, cheese, sausage, mushrooms, shrimp, lemon, and Brussels sprouts. And Sobelman's brings new meaning to the word largesse: for every one sold, they donate $5 to the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee.