Red Snapper

So if you start with a Bloody Mary and just leave out the spiciest stuff like Tabasco sauce, celery salt and horseradish, you pretty much have the Red Snapper. This is a very tomato-forward drink and as such it feels a little thicker on the palate. There's no lime juice, either, just a dash of lemon juice. So really this is an alcoholic tomato puree drink with a pinch of paprika--not that there's anything wrong with that.

The important thing is that this is a branch of the Bloody Mary family tree that includes the celery rib, like the Bloody Caesar. To do the drink correctly you must include it, if only to distinguish which type of Bloody Mary the Red Snapper is.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 3 oz. tomato juice
• 3-5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• cayenne pepper to taste
• dash lemon juice
• celery rib

Combine all ingredients except celery rib in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled highball glass (with optional salt rim as shown.) Garnish with the celery stalk.