Bloody Marys, Sconnie Style

If you want to get a taste for the food culture of a place, order a Bloody Mary. It will tell you a lot. On a recent trip to St. Thomas, my Bloody Mary contained habanero hot sauce. Here in Wisconsin, we also have our own way of doing things. Here’s how to make a Bloody Mary, Sconnie Style. You’ll need a big pint glass and some long toothpicks or cocktail spears, as well as the following ingredients:

• Vodka
• Tomato juice
• Worcestershire sauce
• Horseradish
• Tabasco sauce
• Green olives
• Brine from olive jar
• Celery stalk (keep the fronds on top if you want it to look fancy)
• cheese curds
• Mini sausage links
• Lime wedges
• Dill pickle spears
• Celery salt
• Black pepper

Into a pint glass with ice cubes, pour 1.5 oz. of vodka, or more if you are so inclined. We won’t judge. Mix in a splash of olive brine from the olive jar, 1-2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp. of horseradish, and 2-3 dashes of Tabasco. You can put in more Tabasco if you are brave, but here in Wisconsin we are kind of wimpy when it comes to spice. Pour tomato juice into the glass until it is about 3/4 full. You need to leave room for the garnishes.

Place olives, cheese curds, and mini sausage links onto a toothpick or cocktail spear and place into glass. Place a dill pickle spear and celery stalk into glass. This may seem like a lot of garnishes, but remember the golden rule: a good Bloody Mary should be like a salty snack in a glass. Top off your Bloody Mary with a dash of celery salt, a dash of black pepper, and a lime wedge. Oh, and you’ll need a beer chaser (a shot of beer in a double shot glass). Perferably Miller High Life. Or Miller Lite, if you are on a diet, in which case you should probably omit the cheese curds and sausage, too. Enjoy.