It was my brilliant garden- and chemistry-minded friend Linda Christian who came up with this solution for a quick and tasty Bloody Mary. “Why not add some of that bottled cocktail sauce we use for shrimp boils to the tomato juice?” she asked. “It’s got all the stuff we put into a Bloody Mary: horseradish, celery salt, cayenne, pepper, Worcestershire …” Gadzooks! She was right. We always seem to have an opened bottle of cocktail sauce hanging around in the fridge at the beach. To make the cocktails even more festive, we rub the rims of the glasses with a slice of lemon and dip them in Old Bay seasoning. Here’s a recipe for a whole pitcher of zesty lip-smacking beachies.
4 cups tomato juice or vegetable juice cocktail
1 cup vodka, or as desired
½ cup cocktail sauce
Hot sauce
¼ cup Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest plus 1 slice lemon
Cocktail onions, pickled okra, cooked bacon slices, celery sticks, pimento-stuffed olives, lemon slices for garnish (optional)
1. Combine the tomato juice, the desired amount of vodka, the cocktail sauce, and the hot sauce to taste in a large pitcher.
2. Combine the Old Bay and lemon zest on a shallow plate. Rub eight glasses with a lemon slice and dip each glass in the Old Bay mixture.
3. Pour the Bloody Marys into ice-filled glasses, and garnish as desired. Serve.