Roasted Tomato Bloody Mary

Say hello to a cocktail I never thought I would put on my blog in a million years.

The Bloody Mary. Yep.

For years I couldn’t stomach the taste, which is a little odd to me because I love the flavors of pretty much every ingredient that goes into them, especially worcestershire sauce. I have been putting that shit on everything since I was a kid!

Plus, pretty much everyone in my family, including Josh, already had a love for them. I don’t like to be the odd man out. It felt like not being able to drive a stick shift all over again. (Yes, I am the only one in my family that can’t do that either.)

One goal at a time.

My recent love for a Bloody Mary just proves to me that our taste buds just magically make a shift through time. One day I decided to order one, out of this strong determination that I force myself to love them, and voila! No forcing necessary, it was delicious! Mind you, I am VERY picky about how mine are made but the transition came nonetheless.

I was so happy with myself. I then made it my goal to order Bloody Mary cocktails all over Seattle and find the best ones around. Needless to say, I have now had my fair share but I continue ordering. For science you know….and a newfound love!

One day, out of the blue, I had a thought cross my mind: “Emily, you have tried so many versions of this drink and you are so stinking picky about what you like and what you don’t like. Why don’t you try making your own concoction?”

Duh. Why didn’t I think of that??

Oh yeah, I just did.

I knew if I was going to create my own recipe I wanted to take it one step further in the flavor factor, by making my own tomato juice with fresh roasted tomatoes! Oh my goodness, such a difference between bottled processed tomato juice and fresh roasted tomato juice pureed right at home in your own blender. I mixed in some fresh garlic cloves and roasted and blended them right along with the tomatoes too. Yum.

Try it. You will love it. I promise.

Beware! Be careful to taste test if you are using regular store-bought tomato juice because a lot of times it is much higher in sodium and the drink could turn out way to salty. You really don’t want that.

I knew the culinary gods must have been sending me a message that this was a fantastic idea because just around the same time I started thinking about how I wanted to put this recipe together doTERRA came out with their brand new celery seed essential oil. I knew that this would be a perfect addition to the homemade seasoning that I had planned on creating.

Now, if you are not using the oils, you can easily just play around with flavors and add in some celery salt which is the usual addition. Ginger is not a commonly found ingredient in a Bloody Mary but I thought it added a nice touch of spice. You could easily just omit both the ginger and lemon oils though and it would still be fantastic!

Okay, now the rim and garnishes!

I really wanted this Bloody Mary to be spot on, my best effort, so of course I had to make my own seasoning salt for the rim! The addition of the smoked paprika is a must and really adds a bit of smoky flavor. That’s why I add some of the seasonings to the drink, in addition to the rim, so you can get the flavor throughout even if you run out of rim salt on your glass!

The garnishes are the best part and everybody has their personal preference. Before I set up the bloody mary to be photographed I took a poll from my friends and family on favorite garnishes. The response was so varied. Crispy bacon, celery, pickles, olives, and pickled peppers were some of the top poll winners which doesn’t surprise me because they are some of the best.

I also really enjoy the addition of really good sharp white cheddar cubes. I go to Costco and get the Dubliner aged sharp cheddar. If you put it on the skewer and swirl it around in your glass for a couple of minutes, the cheese gets soaked with delicious smoky vodka goodness and it’s so good!!

I really hope you guys love this version of the Bloody Mary as much as I did. Love to have you comment below and tell me what you think or what changes you made. It’s always interesting to me to see how one opinion differs from the next and what flavor profiles people gravitate to. Enjoy!