She is already concerned with her outfit and what her other classmates will think. She asked Armando to help her get dressed this morning and he picked out this adorable button-down blue shirt that she absolutely did not want to wear. No matter how cute we told her she looked she said the shirt was ridiculous and would be wearing a sweater over it so no one would see it. I agreed to that thinking that by 11am it would definitely be too hot and she’d have to take her sweater off—I should never underestimate her tenacity. You can guess what she was wearing when I picked her up at 3:00…..when it was 85°F…….that’s right, her sweater.
On top of all this school stuff, life continues to happen. Specifically the tomatoes in my garden continue to get ripe by the bushel. I made batch after batch of fresh tomato juice this week, trying a couple different methods until I came up with one that has just the right amount of salt and spice. The juice is refreshing on its own and offers an incredible amount of pick-me-up in the afternoon, but this girl loves her some Bloody Marys, especially when made with Tequila which I unoffically call a Bloody Maria, because no blond guerrita named Mary would put Tequila in her tomato drink, except for me actually….I totally do that.
This drink would be totally acceptable with store-bought tomato juice if you don’t want to go to the trouble of making your own or you don’t own a juicer. If you do want to make your own and you still don’t own a juicer you can make this cooked version from Simply Recipes that is also pretty yummy. I would just start with a smaller amount of sugar than is called for, my first batch that I made with the 2 tablespoons of sugar was way too sweet for my tastes.

Charred Chile Bloody Maria
A refreshing Bloody Mary made with tequila.
Ingredients
For the Charred Chile-Infused Tequila:
- 1 jalapeño or other spicy chile, grilled or broiled until skin is charred and blistered
- 1 (375ml) bottle Tequila
For the Fresh Tomato Juice:
- 2 pounds very ripe tomatoes (about 4 large), cored and quartered
- 1 stalk celery with leaves
- large handful fresh parsley
- 1/2 small red onion, quartered
- 2-3 dashes hot sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Bloody Maria:
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) Charred Chile-Infused Tequila
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Fresh Tomato Juice or store-bought tomato juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon horseradish
- 3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 3-4 dashes hot sauce
- pinch celery salt
- pinch freshly ground black pepper
- lemon zest, lemon wedges, kosher salt, and celery salt for garnish
- ice
Instructions
- To make the Tequila, place charred chile into Tequila bottle and let sit at least 1 hour or up to a week depending on how spicy you'd like it. The longer it sits, the spicier it gets.
- To make the tomato juice, put tomatoes, celery, parsley, and red onion through a juicer. Whisk in hot sauce and salt. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Makes about 1 quart.
- Combine Tequila, tomato juice, lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, celery salt, and black pepper in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well to blend.
- Line a small dish with kosher salt then add a few good pinches of celery salt and combine. Rub a lemon wedge over the lip of a highball glass then gently tap the top of the glass into the salt mixture to rim the glass with the spices. Fill glass with ice and then strain cocktail over prepared glass. Garnish with lemon zest and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 506Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2989mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 18gSugar: 42gProtein: 14g
This drink is gorgeous! I love the charred chile addition!
Thank you Heather!
Um, I want this drink in regular rotation around my parts! Can we please make these next time you’re south?
Yes, I’ll be over in an hour!
Are you kidding me?! Another Ramos special!
I have never been a fan of bloody marys, but this version sounds like something I could deal with easily. 🙂 I love the flavor of green chiles, and this version of the drink sounds like it would be equivalent to drinking margaritas made with simple, fresh ingredients (just tried the persimmon margarita on Boulder Locavore’s site yesterday, and it’s really good…). Not sure I’d want to infuse a whole bottle of tequila with chile flavor, though. Definitely saving the recipe.
Thanks Susan! I’ll have to check out that persimmon margarita, that sounds like something I could get behind!!