Swap vodka for gin and the familiar brunch drink suddenly has something to say. Juniper and coriander pick up the pepper and the celery, fresh horseradish brings heat that clears the head, and a mix of lemon and lime keeps it bright. Rim the glass with sea salt and serve it very cold.
3.7Editors’ rating
Taste3.8
Balance3.7
Easy to make3.6
Popularity15
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Garnish: Celery stick, lime wedge, salt rim · Ice: Ice cubes
Method
Rub a lime wedge around the rim of a highball glass and dip it in sea salt.
Fill the glass with ice cubes.
Add gin, tomato juice, lemon and lime juice, horseradish, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
Roll the drink between the glass and a shaker tin two or three times to mix without foaming.
Garnish with a celery stick and a lime wedge.
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Watch it made
Bloody Margaret
Taste
Savoury and peppery, with juniper, citrus and a clean horseradish heat. Refreshing, medium-bodied and moderate in alcohol.
History and origin
Gin in a tomato cocktail is not new: when the Bloody Mary took shape in the 1920s and 1930s, gin was a common base, and the gin version is often called the Red Snapper, a name associated with the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel in New York. Bloody Margaret is another name used for the same idea.
There is no single canonical recipe. The version here uses the full Bloody Mary seasoning, with fresh horseradish and both lemon and lime, which suits the botanicals of a London dry gin.
Bartender tips
Rolling instead of shaking keeps tomato juice silky; shaking makes it thin and frothy.
Fresh horseradish is far more aromatic than the jarred kind. Grate it just before mixing.
For a party, mix a pitcher of the seasoned tomato base in advance and add gin per glass.
Variations
Red Snapper
The classic name for the gin Bloody Mary, usually made with lemon juice only.
