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This Bloody Maria cocktail recipe is made with tequila, lime juice, tomato juice, and spices for a fun twist on the classic Bloody Mary.
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Meet my new favorite brunch drink, the Bloody Maria cocktail!
What is a Bloody Maria?
A Bloody Maria is like a Bloody Mary in that it’s made with tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and spices, but instead of using vodka, it uses my personal favorite liquor – tequila!
The tequila adds a nice little kick to this already punchy drink, and gives the cocktail a nice Mexican twist, which you know I love.
HOW TO MAKE A Bloody Maria
- Salt the rim: Run a lime wedge around the rim of a pint glass and dip in celery salt and smoked paprika. Fill glass with ice cubes.
- Mix: Add tomato juice, tequila, lemon juice, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, celery salt, smoked paprika, and black pepper to a cocktail shaker or large cup. Shake or stir and mix until fully combined.
- Garnish: Pour the drink into the prepared glass and garnish with desired toppings likes pickled spears, pepperoncini peppers, celery stalks, olives, lime wedges, and lemon wedges.
Adjust the seasonings to your liking
After making the base for this Bloody Maria over 4 times, I finally settled on the perfect mix of sauces and spices.
One ingredient that you may notice is missing is horseradish. I tried adding it in different amounts, but I just did not like the taste of it in my Bloody Maria. No matter how little I added, it was still too strong for my liking. So I decided to leave it out and the final result was perfect.
If you like horseradish, I recommend making the recipe as it’s written, tasting it, and then adding in a touch of horseradish if you think it’s missing something. Totally personal preference.
The Best Bloody Maria Garnishes
Last but not least, let’s not forget about all the garnishes! They’re my favorite part of a bloody cocktail. Here are some of my favorite Bloody Maria garnishes:
- olives
- celery stalks
- pickle spears (my favorite – the salty pickle juice pairs perfectly with this spicy cocktail)
- pepperoncini
- bacon
- cheese cubes
- cooked shrimp
- even little grilled cheese sandwich squares!
Whether you get a little fancy or go the classic route, the garnishes make all the difference so don’t forget to add them to your drink!
More Drink Recipes
Bloody Maria Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ounces tomato juice (about a 1/2 cup)
- 1.5 ounces tequila blanco
- 1/4 lemon, divided into 2 wedges
- 1/4 lime, divided into 2 wedges
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1 pinch celery salt, plus more for rim
- 1 pinch smoked paprika, plus more for rim
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- For garnish: olives, pickle spears, peperoncini, celery stalks
Instructions
- Mix together a little celery salt and smoked paprika on a shallow plate. Run a lime wedge along the rim of one pint glass, then dip it into the mixture to coat the rim. Fill with ice.
- In a cocktail shaker (or a large cup for mixing), add tomato juice, tequila, juice from 1 lemon wedge, juice from 1 lime wedge, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, celery salt, smoked paprika and black pepper.
- Mix together, taste, and adjust any seasonings if necessary. Pour into the prepared glass.
- Garnish with the remaining lime and lemon wedges, olives, pickle spears, peperoncini and celery stalks, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this because I didn’t have vodka for a Bloody Mary and it was very good. I used V8 though because I didn’t have plain tomato juice. I will definitely be using this recipe again!
I’m looking forward to trying these recipes for my Mexican family.
This is delicious! Prior recipes used horse radish and double the worcestershire. Although I love horseradish with beef and in cocktail sauce, turns out I don’t like it in Bloody Mary’s. I also don’t like vodka. Your Bloody Maria recipe is the perfect solution for me.
Note, I bought some tajin today and wanted to try it in something, so, I added a 1/4 tsp to my Bloody Maria and it was still yummy!
Hi Girl,
A few comments from a practical engineer:
1. I love tequila, for AGAWE being healthiest.
2. Use REPOSADO, for better taste. Blanco is for sissies.
3. Poor Americans use Frank’s HOT sauce. Tabasco too much $$, and frankie has vinegar and garlic.
4. Pour all in a large tumbler, with 4-5 ice CUBES.
Yummy. Salut. Nazdrovie. A votre sante. Serefe.
Andre
Don’t listen to this. Blanco is perfect too. In fact, it’s all good so suit to taste. Some people get caught up in themselves.
I love your blog 💛I love all the different choices
Hi Isabel, tried your Bloody Maria last night and quite liked it. Went by your version almost exactly, but I did not have smoked paprika on hand so had to skip that for now. I suppose recipes are made for tinkering so on the second one I dropped the Tabasco and used a red habanero salsa from a company called Mexico Lindo. More of a kick! One question: you suggest pickles as a garnish but there are probably 9 million pickles out there so what kind would you use? Thanks and best regards, Dirk in Santa Fe, NM
Hi Dirk! We are glad you enjoyed this recipe! For this drink, dill pickles should work fine! If you wanted to try something fun, you can use lime pickles or spicy pickles to add heat.
This is a beautiful set of photos for a classic drink! It sounds phenomenal!
Thank you so much!
Love this drink🍸love spicy 🌶perfect combo. And we all know tequila is the better alcohol 😊
Couldn’t do all the garnishes since I’m vegan but did vegan alternatives still delish
Thanks, Kathleen. I love spicy drinks, too! 🙂 They’re the best.