Beanstalk Bloody Mary

This post was originally published on June 1, 2015.

This past weekend was spent out in Bond, Colorado at an enchanting location called State Bridge. State Bridge is almost halfway between Vail and Glenwood Springs and to the north, which gives the area unique features– features that are a mixture of the mountainous, piney area to the east and the desert lands characterized by red rocks to the west. This piece of land exhibits how Colorado’s landscape changes as you move west, from the high altitude Rockies to the more arid areas full of brushland and deep sandstone canyons. Anyways, the weekend was full of music, laughter, good times with good friends, beautiful views, deep feelings, dance parties, and a lot of Bloody Marys.

Sippin' on the banks of the Colorado River as a train rolls by

On Friday, I made mention that I would have the Beanstalk Bloody Mary mix at the festival, with the thought of selling the Bloodys on the mornings of Saturday and Sunday. Well, Friday night turned into Saturday morning and I wasn’t in the mood to walk around trying to sell anything. So I made Bloodys for all my friends for free (not that I would have charged friends anyway) and did not try to “make my name known” to the rest of the festival. And you know what, that’s okay! Sometimes you just have to spread the love at a smaller scale than you had planned. The next festival I go to I will bring something with wheels so I can sell my Bloodys to all festival patrons.

Bolder Beans! Photo by Chelsea Beck

My friends highly enjoyed the Beanstalk Bloody Mary mix and I thought it may have been one of my favorites created to date. The mix is pretty classic with notes of pickle juice and horseradish. I made three batches of the mix for the festival and also brought along pickles, celery, and pickled green beans (for the festival’s namesake, of course!). I let the mix’s ingredients fuse together for about 36 hours before serving.

INGREDIENTS

Photo by Chelsea Beck

Mix (makes 1 64 oz. batch; roughly 11 cocktails)

• 1 64 oz. bottle of tomato juice
• 2 lemons
• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbs. hot sauce
• 1 tbs. pickle juice
• 2 tbs. horseradish
• 2 tbs. greens seasoning (I used Heritage Fare’s)
• 1 tbs. black pepper
• 1 tbs. cayenne pepper
• ½ tbs. salt

Garnish

• pickled green bean
• pickle
• celery
• Wasabi candy canes as a spicy trick

**You will also need vodka and ice for each Beanstalk Bloody Mary

DIRECTIONS

Day One

Preparing the Mix

1. Grab a large mixing bowl and pour the tomato juice into it.
2. Squeeze the juice from two lemons into the bowl and mix.
3. Add the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and pickle juice. Mix well.
4. Scoop in the horseradish and stir.
5. Add the greens seasoning, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. Stir well.
6. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the jug the tomato juice came in. There may be a little bit leftover in the mixing bowl– use this excess mix as you wish.
7. Let sit in the fridge for a day or two.

Day Two or Three

Constructing the Beanstalk Bloody Mary

1. Fill a cup halfway with ice.
2. Pour 1.5-3 oz. of vodka in the cup.
3. Pour in the mix.
4. Toss in a pickled green bean, pickle, and celery stalk.
5. Optional: sprinkle with black pepper, greens seasoning, and salt.
6. Sip on your Beanstalk Bloody Mary in the sun, next to the river, or wherever you may find yourself this summer.