The Bloody Mary is an oft maligned drink served watered down without passion at a buffet or even worse topped with so much crap that it is it’s own buffet. At core this is a really lovely drink and a great excuse to start drinking early in the day, but if you want something really special, make ’em with whiskey! 

For this Barbeque Bloody Mary, we start with 2 ounces of Corsair Artisan Distillery Wildfire Hickory smoked whiskey, followed on with 1 ounce of Captain Rodney’s coffee barbeque sauce, 4 ounces of Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix (I don’t usually prescribe mixes, but zing zang is hard to beat), couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce, two or three drops of 1821 Baltimore Bitters, three drops of super secret bacon bitters (if you have them) and a healthy squeeze of lemon juice. Shake over ice and serve into tall glasses rimmed with Tajin classico. Garnish with “stiff enough” bacon and celery or whatever is handy, just don’t go crazy and add a fried crab or whole watermelon or something.

You might as well go ahead and make another as your partner will probably steal the first one before you can even get pictures made. Apply liberally, as many times a day as necessary for relief to set in. Stay home, stay safe and stay hydrated. 

If you are enjoying these occasional cocktail posts, take a minute to think about all the furloughed hospitality workers out there who would enjoy nothing more than to pour you a drink today and consider tossing a couple of bucks into the virtual tip jar to help them out. I’m sure there are many worthy places to donate in your area, look them up and do a good thing.