As gardens around Colorado begin to overflow with tomatoes, growers and cocktail enthusiasts may find themselves crossing paths at a unique version of that particular morning drink, whether the hair of the dog or a jump-start to the day, the Bloody Mary.
In a state bursting with home gardens, farmers markets, fresh produce and a DIY spirit, it seems inevitable that the drink would move beyond syrupy, heavily processed tomato juice out of a can. A couple of Colorado establishments offer their own versions of the drink and they stepped up with tips and tricks for the home bartender to try their hand.
Visitors to the juice bar at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs near Buena Vista have come across the freshly juiced Bloody Mary this summer, recently returned to the menu after some years of absence. The Mt. Princeton version of the cocktail relies on extremely ripe local hothouse tomatoes — grown on a neighboring property that makes use of the same geothermal activity that powers the springs — juiced along with a small handful of additional vegetables, according to Tom Warren, general manager at the hot springs.
For each 16-ounce drink, he said they juice five to six tomatoes along with half a lemon, a touch of fresh garlic and three local carrots, the last of which vastly improves the texture of the juice.
“With the tomatoes only it’s very thin, but when you squeeze the carrots it’s a thicker juice,” he said. “I think in the mouth it feels better than just the really really liquidy tomato juice.”
Warren rounds out the flavor profile with a touch of Japanese oyster sauce, which takes the place of traditional Worcestershire sauce in adding a touch of savoriness to the whole package, along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and the customer’s choice of vodka. They experimented with oyster and Worcestershire, and Warren said the Worcestershire was too strong for the milder, freshly-juiced version of the cocktail.
“We thought with the oyster sauce, it tasted very, very good. I did taste a sample with the Worcestershire sauce, it was not bad, but it almost overwhelmed the taste of the tomato,” he said. It’s overall a relatively low-sodium approach, though they rim the glass with Tajin, a blend of chile, lime and salt.
When it comes to garnishes, Mt. Princeton sticks with its minimal approach, offering bacon as an add-on. There once was an option to add three chilled shrimp, but that became “just a nightmare to prep” because of its popularity, Warren said.
For the home enthusiast, he recommends finding high-juice tomatoes, such as the fresh local ones used at the resort. “This is a very low-structured, soft tomato that’s full of liquid content,” he said. Some varieties and underripe tomatoes, liked the ones in the big box grocery stores that are “as hard as an apple,” will have too much flesh and yield less juice. “You would juice 20 for a (cocktail).”
Warren’s biggest recommendations for making a home-juiced Bloody Mary were to buy a good juicer and be prepared to spend some time making and perfecting the cocktail. It’s a “very simple, very wholesome” drink that relies on a few quality ingredients. “The real joy to it is that none of it is from a can or a bag.”
“The best Bloody Mary I’d ever had”
In Colorado Springs, Mother Muff’s owner Susan Hirt says her menu of Marys was informed by an older, more complex version of the Mt. Princeton cocktail that she enjoyed almost 20 years ago. Inspired by “the best Bloody Mary I’d ever had,” she experimented with different vegetables and different proportions to put one on the menu years later when opening Muff’s.
Because Mother Muff’s can serve hundreds of Bloody Marys in a day, the restaurant relies on a high-quality commercial tomato juice for its base, and blends it with a “concentrate” that consists of other juices and ingredients. The concentrate is made by juicing carrots, celery, cucumber, green and red bell peppers, beets (for color), jalapeño and a secret seventh ingredient in big batches using heavy-duty Breville juicers. They pass the initial pulp through a second time to ensure that they’re getting as much juice as possible for their effort and then freeze the concentrate
“At first we juiced every couple of days, because it only stays fresh for three or four days,” Hirt said. “I wanted to keep it as fresh as possible, and as veggie as possible. We came up with making it in big batches and freezing it.”
Vegetables get cleaned and chopped for ease of processing, but none are peeled. Once everything is processed, the vegetable juice is dosed with Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces and is ready to be added to the tomato juice.
For the home mixologist, Hirt recommended the approach she took to develop the Mother Muff’s recipe: juicing a few cups of a variety of vegetables, then playing with the proportions. She had a cucumber-heavy version that she liked, but it was less popular with tasters, so she dialed down the cucumber and turned up the peppers, carrots and other ingredients. “The beet helps to give it that juicy, earthy flavor, but it’s also for color,” she said. Without it, Muff’s mix is more brown than red.
Removing the seeds from the jalapeños or other peppers can impact the flavor profile and the level of heat, and she suggested substituting poblanos for the home mixologist who prefers it mild. She’s used Anaheim peppers in a pinch, as well.
“Don’t be afraid to try different things if it’s for yourself, for a party,” she advised. “It really is endless, the things you can juice. I think apple might be a really great minor ingredient if you’re looking for something different.”
Muff’s offers a variety of additional customizations that customers can explore or the home bartender can take inspiration from. There are choices that stray from vodka or house-infused poblano vodka — with offerings that include gin, rum, whiskey and tequila — and garnishes that range from the typical olive and celery stalk to bolder choices such as a pickle spear, bacon, blue cheese-stuffed olives and pepperoncini.
Other tweaks, often based on regional interpretations, include Clamato instead of tomato juice, or augmenting the drink with olive juice, pickle juice, sriracha, wasabi, porter-style beer, and even beef broth.
“There are different kinds of Bloody Marys depending on where you are in the United States,” Hirt said. “Where I grew in in Illinois, they put beef broth into ‘em, which I think is kinda gross, but it’s on there. Years and years and years ago, I stole a recipe from a bartender at The Keg Lounge in Manitou — who is now a regular, by the way, which I love — he put a little bit of porter beer in his Bloody Mary. It was something really unique that’d I’d never tried. It was really good, so it’s on there.”
So whether or not it includes clams or beef, Mother Muff’s illustrates the diversity of the drink. There are countless roads that the tender of a Bloody Mary bar can explore to make the drink their own, and the next great iteration might just come from a basket of fresh farmers market ingredients.
A basic tomato juice recipe
3 pounds very ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
1¼ cup chopped celery, including leaves
⅓ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of black pepper
A couple of shakes of Tabasco sauce (6-8 drops, to taste)
This recipe can be made using the cooked method, recommended by simplyrecipes.com, or using one of these no-cook methods (including putting the ingredients through a countertop juicer) recommended by alphafoodie.com.
We tested the recipe using the blender method using extremely ripe field tomatoes and substituting two carrots for the sugar.