Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Gin Cocktails

Red Snapper

By
Liquor.com
Liquor.com

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Updated 08/19/21
Red Snapper cocktail in a pint glass, garnished with a lime wedge and celery stalk
Image:

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The Bloody Mary is a workhorse drink. It’s a favorite hangover remedy and a vitamin-packed breakfast that’s been jumpstarting mornings since it first landed in bars circa 1920 or 1930. The original recipe is believed to have contained seven ingredients: vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, celery salt and Tabasco. But that recipe has been tweaked throughout the decades, and today you’ll find versions featuring a variety of spirits and garnished with everything from whole shrimp to mini burgers.

The variations that show the most staying power tend to keep things simple, like the Bloody Maria, which calls for tequila, and the Red Snapper, which swaps out vodka for gin. This Red Snapper recipe hews closely to the original, with gin and tomato juice leading the way. Fresh lemon juice brings balance, while additional flavor arrives via celery salt, black pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

It’s easy to call the Red Snapper “just a Bloody Mary with gin," and you wouldn’t be wrong. But while the vodka-spiked version defers to the tomato juice and flavorful accessories, the gin stands tall in a Red Snapper, providing a sturdy backbone that shines through the cocktail’s other components. So if you like gin and really want to taste the booze in your brunch cocktail, this one’s for you.

Ingredients

  • 2 pinches black pepper, freshly ground

  • 2 pinches celery salt

  • 1 lime wedge

  • 2 ounces gin

  • 4 ounces tomato juice

  • 1/2 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed

  • 6 dashes Tabasco sauce

  • 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

  • Garnish: celery stalk

  • Garnish: lime wedge

Steps

  1. Pour the pepper and celery salt onto a small plate.

  2. Rub the juicy side of a lime wedge along the lip of a pint glass, then rim the glass with the salt and pepper mixture, and fill the glass with ice.

  3. Add the gin, tomato juice, lemon juice, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce into a shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled.

  4. Strain into the prepared glass, and garnish with a celery stalk and lime wedge.