As per my resolution, I am making the Bacon Mary.  Being from Maryland originally (that I was born in Pasadena and spent four years as a toddler in Des Plaines, IL doesn’t count), I make my Bloody Marys with Old Bay seasoning.  Of course, being from Maryland, I grew up putting Old bay on anything and everything and believe that the Utz Crab Chip is the best potato chip in existence.  So the Bacon Mary holds a special interest for me because I’ve always used the altered – and superior – “Bloody Maryland” variation.

Obviously, the point of the Bacon Mary is to have the rich, smoky flavor of bacon present in the drink, cut with the tartness of lemon and mixed with the hardy tomato flavor.  One of the things I realized is that the Bacon Mary is, incredibly, vegan-friendly.  A real Bloody Mary relies on Worcestershire sauce to give it some backbone.  The problem is that Worcestershire sauce is made with anchovy and is therefore trayf to vegans.  Bacon Salt fixes that problem.  Additionally, the Bacon Mary omits celery salt.  Ordinarily, I’m partial to Absolut Peppar for a Bloody Mary, but the flavor with interfere with the bacon-y Bacon Salt flavor, so just use regular vodka.  I recommend Ketel One.

Without any further ado, here is my recipe for the Bacon Mary:

• 6 parts tomato juice
• 3 parts vodka
• 1 part lemon
• 1 tsp. Gold’s Hot Horseradish
• 1/2 tsp. Bacon Salt
• Splash of Tabasco Sauce

In a highball glass, muddle the Bacon Salt with the horseradish to dissolve the Bacon Salt.  Then, squeeze the lemon juice into the glass and stir briefly.  Add the vodka, followed by the tomato juice.  Stir well and pour into a second highball glass with 3-4 ice cubes.  Add Tabasco to taste.  

Optional – Garnish with a rasher of crispy bacon (rendering the drink both vegan and observant Jew unfriendly).  Optional and possibly hazardous to your health – Garnish with a raw slab of good, fatty North Carolina thick-cut bacon draped over the edge.