Spicy and savory, adorned with countless garnishes, we have developed the best Wisconsin Bloody Mary recipe to rival the ones found in Wisconsin bars!! This tomato juice-based drink is filled with spices, pickle and lemon juice, a touch of sugar, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Creating the perfect Bloody Mary, also known as the perfect hangover cure.
From Del’s Bar in La Crosse to the bars of Door County, the Bloody Mary drink is a staple found in Wisconsin. Many bars claim to have the best Bloody Mary but in the United States, the top Bloody Mary's hail from Wisconsin. So you may have to travel to Wisconsin yourself to find your top Bloody Mary and mark it as your favorite spot!
Whether served in a pint glass, mason jar, or a large pitcher, the classic Bloody Mary will also be served with a beer chaser. If you are lucky, it is a Wisconsin-based beer, like the Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewery, that can only be bought in Wisconsin.
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Drink Ingredients
- Tomato Juice - I bought the cans to make a Bloody Mary when I wanted to make one quickly.
- Vodka - I used plain rail vodka, but I have heard great things about bacon vodka. Also, cucumber vodka is another excellent option. My bartender friend says that cucumber vodka adds a great veggie taste.
- Worcestershire Sauce - This adds such a great umami flavor.
- Pickle Juice -is the salty, briny taste that Bloody Marys require.
- Celery Salt - Another way to add more veggie flavor.
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper - Adds a great spicy depth of flavor.
- Sugar - Sugar is used to balance out the acid of the tomato juice.
- Lemon Juice or Lime Juice - Adds a freshness component to the canned tomato juice.
- Hot Pepper Sauce - Tabasco is our house favorite. Use your favorite!
See the recipe card for the exact measurements and complete instructions. Selected ingredients are based on current serving sizes measured by the Monash FODMAP App at the time of publishing. As always, follow your gut and modify as needed.
Garnishes
There are so many options to garnish your drink with. Garnishes could be your complete meal if you want it to be. In fact, no need to order an appetizer. Your Bloody Mary has it covered.
Classic Garnish Options
The classic options found on most Bloody Marys, even in the dive bars, include:
- Beef Stick or Deer Stick
- Cheese Cubes - Cheddar, Pepperjack, Dill Havarti, Mozerella, the options are endless in the land of cheese.
- Pickles - Either a dill pickle spear or a baby dill will work. I have even had bread and butter pickles before.
- Celery Stalk- Everyone needs more veggies!
- Green Olive - Stuffed with pimentos, jalapenos, blue cheese, or feta cheese.
Extreme Garnish Options
The more extreme options for garnishes can be but are not limited to, include:
- Bacon - the thick-cut kind will hold up nicely while soaking in your bloody mary drink. However, there is no wrong bacon option.
- Tater Tots - A little nugget of compact potato that fits perfectly on a skewer.
- Cheese Curds - A Wisconsin MUST-HAVE! I took a road trip across the Mississippi River to find the freshest cheese curds at Ellsworth Creamery. The milk is so fresh you follow in milk trucks straight from the farms to the creamery. Did you know that when cheese curds are fresh, they will squeak when you eat them? It is the coolest yet equally odd thing about fresh cheese.
- Hard Boiled Eggs-Everyone needs more protein, right? Also, as a classic brunch drink, eggs are a must-have. I cannot imagine securing a fried egg to a skewer, but a hard-boiled egg, absolutely.
- Dilly Beans - It is like pickles, but it is green beans. Super simple to make and they taste delicious in a Bloody Mary.
- Beer Brats - Brats are a Wisconsin staple, and so is beer, so of course, they are a classic ingredient option for an extreme garnish! Grab the fully cooked version to keep this easy!
- Smoked Turkey Drumstick - from Ferndale Market. I know it isn't a chicken wing, fried chicken or a cheeseburger slider, but it is this Minnesota girl's addition to the Wisconsin Bloody Mary version. This turkey drumstick is fully smoked, low FODMAP meat option is not only a show stopper, a great conversation starter about your garnish options, and tastes delicious. It is bringing a little bit of Thanksgiving to your Bloody Mary garnish game!
How To Make A Bloody Mary
Pour in the tomato juice into a glass with ice.
Add your vodka next using your favorite shot glass. If you have a unique spelling for your name, you will 100% understand why this shot glass is my favorite!
Add in spices and sugar. Stir until fully combined and the sugar is dissolved.
Gather some skewers and start adding your garnishes.
Adapting to Low FODMAP
In order to make this a low FODMAP drink option, you will need to keep the amount of tomato juice to 3 ounces, according to Monash App. Skip the premix and make a homemade mix. For example, Clamato juice has high fructose corn syrup, and so does Mrs. T’s. Also, making yours from scratch helps you control the spices to be sure it does not include garlic or onion.
Low FODMAP Garnishes
- Beef Stick Options - I found two great garlic and onion-free options: Wenzels Beef Sticks - I found them at Kwik Trip, another Wisconsin staple and the best gas station ever. However, you can get them on Amazon too. I also found Good Fod Foods Original Meat Sticks, made for anyone on a low FODMAP diet. They are my favorite people!
- Pickles - Check the ingredients. You can find pickles in grocery stores that do not have garlic or onion listed.
- Salami - I found a great salami option from the deli. It is FODMAP-friendly and delicious.
FAQs
It is standard practice in Wisconsin, and throughout some lucky Midwest places, Bloody Marys are served with a beer chaser, also called a "snit" in Minnesota. Some believe the beer cuts through the thick, spicy tomato juice drink. Others think it is due to the indecisiveness of ordering either a beer or a bloody mary drink. Either way, it is the best of both worlds!
To make a mocktail Bloody Mary, add more pickle juice or beef stock instead of vodka. Add tequila to turn it into a Bloody Maria. Try dill aquavit. The 45th Parallel Distillery makes a delicious option! Want to make a Red Snapper - add gin.
You are hosting a Bloody Mary bar party and need more than garnishes! If you are hosting a brunch, make an egg bake, breakfast burritos, scrambled eggs, and hashbrowns. If you host an evening party, serve chicken flautas, chips and salsa or guacamole, mac and cheese, and Cuban sandwiches! Either time of the day, a Bloody Mary bar sounds like a great party option!
According to the US Dairy, it is due to the protein network in cheese curds. When you bite into it, the squeak you hear is the cheese "rebounding" it tightly woven protein network. If you do not hear your cheese curds squeak, it is just that the squeak factor only lasts for a short time after a cheese curd is made. They are still delicious and worth every single bite!
Additional Drink Recipes
Recipe
Best Wisconsin Bloody Mary Recipe
Equipment
- Shot Glass
Ingredients
- 5.5 ounces Tomato Juice
- 1 ounce Vodka
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Pickle Juice
- ½ teaspoon Celery Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
- ½ teaspoon White Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- Dashes of Hot sauce
Instructions
- Add the tomato juice, vodka, worcestershire sauce, pickle juice, celery salt, ground pepper, sugar, lemon juice, and hot sauce in a tall glass.
- Then using skewers add as many garnishes as you want. Be extreme or simple, either way it will taste delicious.
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