Jalapeño Bloody Mary.

Say hello to the best sweet and spicy Bloody Mary.

The perfect thing for good Friday, right? I mean, what’s Easter brunch without a Bloody Mary?

Ok, truth? Up until a few months ago I would shy my head away from any tomato based drink. I never really understood why everyone was drinking tomato juice. It just seemed SO odd to me. For years now my cousins have been begging me to make Bloody Marys on Christmas morning (hey, hey Maggie, Abby, and Mathew) and this year I finally did…well sort of.

You ready for a little story? Because it’s coming…

When my family was all in town for Christmas this past December we did a snowmobile trip up at Vail Pass. My brother’s really good friend Kyle (who’s basically a family), has a few snowmobiles and invited us all out. Fourteen bodies and six snowmobiles (don’t even ask how we made that happen…let’s just say it involved some snowboarding behind the sleds). Later we somehow ended up at a little bar/restaurant called Mango’s in the town of Red Cliff, CO. We all ordered food…and of course drinks. Some ordered beer, but Kyle ordered the Jalapeño Bloody Mary with jalapeño infused vodka. Somehow someone got me to try a sip and surprise, surprise, it was actually kind of awesome. I loved the sweet and spicy aspect, and as much as I thought it was going to taste like straight up tomato juice, it totally did not.

This trip happened a couple of days before Christmas, so I decided then and there that we’d finally make some Bloodys for Christmas morning. My cousin Abby took care of infusing the vodka with the jalapeños on Christmas Eve, which would have been awesome…but she left ALL the seeds in and used probably around four large jalapeños…so yeah, it was really freaking spicy. Like eyes tearing up kind of spicy.

Christmas morning came and um, I totally forgot about actually making the Bloody Marys. I kind of got preoccupied with all the gift giving and dinner prep. BUT don’t worry, my cousins had my back and got some Bloody Mary mix and mixed up their own. Luckily, everyone in our family can handle spice, so no one turned their noses to the vodka that was going to make them cry…and I am being totally serious.

Abby’s Bloody was by far the best. She lives in San Diego where they apparently really know how to do them up with all the garnishes, spicy salt rim…basically the works. Abby piled hers high, and I can’t lie, I was super impressed.

Which brings me to today’s Bloody Mary!

This is one hundred percent inspired by the family’s trip to Mango’s and my cousin’s serious love for all things Bloody Mary. Unlike the Bloody Marys on Christmas morning, this is one hundred percent made from scratch, and one hundred percent better. Never again will we be using a mix.

You can can make the mix a couple of days in advance and keep it in the fridge until ready to serve. Super simple and easy. I used pure tomato juice and a splash of pineapple juice (you could also use orange juice) to balance out all the spice happening. I also threw in a pinch of Old Bay seasoning for some serious flavor. So good.

Let’s talk about that Jalapeño vodka though. You really need to make this to YOUR taste. If you like heat, leave the seeds in, if you only want a little heat, leave the seeds out. O go somewhere in the middle and leave the seeds in only one of these jalapeños. If you want super intense flavor, the longer the jalapeños sit in the vodka the stronger it’s going to be. I normally leave the seeds in and let the vodka sit overnight, but some people recommend leaving it to sit for one week (with the seeds removed…if you leave the seeds in it could get really spicy after sitting for a whole week). If you want to quickly infuse the vodka, leave the seeds in and let it sit a couple of hours. Again, it’s really to your taste and how you would enjoy it. If it gets a little too spicy for you, just add a splash more of pineapple juice to tame it down.

Ok and lastly, the garnishes! As you can see, I really went for it…celery, crispy bacon and a loaded skewer complete with a pineapple wedge, pepperoncini, olives, and a chili pepper. The chili pepper was more for looks, but it’s fun, right? Oh, and I also did a salty Old Bay rim too.

I know, I know, loaded. But so good and so fun…and kind of perfect for Easter Sunday brunch.

Which is why I am sharing these today! I typically do something sweet on Friday, but these just felt way too perfect for today! Taking tomorrow and Easter off from posting, so I really wanted to leave you guys with one last Easter recipe!

I hope you guys have the best weekend, and for those of you who celebrate it…happy Good Friday and have a great Easter!!

Cheers!

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