New England Bloody Mary with Shrimp Cocktail

The New England Bloody Mary Cocktail is enhanced with Clamato juice and grilled shrimp for a decidedly New England flair.

Time sure flies; it seems like I was just scrambling last week to get last month’s Progressive Eats complete on time and now here we are; the end of September already! This month the date seemed to sneak up on me but it is one of those months with only 30 days or we would be publishing next Tuesday; that’s what sort of messed me up. But hey, I made this New England Bloody Mary with Shrimp Cocktail and photographed it and wrote my post on Sunday…seems downright leisurely compared to last month when I did it all the day before which I vowed, NEVER AGAIN. I hope.

I posted a quick phone snap of this cocktail to my friends on Facebook and discovered that a Bloody Mary made with Clamato juice is actually the national cocktail of Canada and called the Bloody Caesar…whoa! Now I don’t want to get in between Canada and New England; there is much I know I would love about both so I did some research and find that my version of this cocktail is different enough to not be stealing Canada’s thunder and even has a decidedly Cajun twist I added that separates it from both of them!

I seldom make cocktails for Progressive Eats because typically I post another cocktail on Friday. I say typically because I’ve been so remiss the past couple of months…I need to get back on the schedule with the holidays coming, everyone loves their cocktails for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve and they count on me! But I couldn’t pass this one up. I’m actually not the biggest fan of a lot of Bloody Mary’s I’ve tried but something about adding Clamato juice and shrimp appealed to me and I have to admit, my friends and I LOVED this New England Bloody Mary with Shrimp Cocktail.

The cocktail is made with a Bloody Mary base that makes it easy to mix up enough for a batch of four. It’s a simple list of ingredients blended together that are mixed with vodka before serving:

• Tomato Juice (I so prefer V-8)

• Clamato Juice

• Lemon Juice

• Worcestershire Sauce

• Horseradish

• Salt and Pepper

The Clamato adds a special something but honestly it’s the shrimp garnish I died over; how could it be New England anything and not include some fresh food from the sea? The lemon was not simply a garnish…it’s meant to be squeezed onto the shrimp if desired. 

My inspiration came from a recipe I saw published by Ketel One Vodka (my favorite BTW). They included shrimp as in ‘shrimp cocktail’ meaning plain boiled shrimp. That’s where I veered a bit (maybe a lot?). I wanted those shrimp to have more flavor so first I decided they needed to be grilled. The biggest difference? I used Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning on them before I grilled them. Oh my. The combination of the creole seasoned shrimp and the tomato cocktail were amazing; sort of a drink and appetizer in one glass!

I did think twice before adding something ‘Creole’ to a cocktail I’m offering for a menu devoted to New England so I wanted to clarify exactly what that meant. It appears there is no exactly at all. The meaning has changed quite dramatically over the years and creates a quite lively conversation as to the origin. Maybe not how we think of Creole today but it seems that the first meaning signified that “original” Creoles would have been French and French only people directly descended from France but born in Louisiana.

Over the years it has come to mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, all of it ascribed to a combination of foreign or mixed race, born in Louisiana. Who knew it was so complicated? Nonetheless, while not being able to make a strong enough correlation to assure it could be a New England thing, I used it anyhow. Nothing wrong with a cocktail with a bit of multiculturalism right?

The drink by itself was outstanding, just the perfect measure of ingredients. The shrimp by itself was also amazing and I plan to grill a whole bunch of them the same way just because. The two of them together? Cocktail and appetizer heaven I tell ya!

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month’s theme is A New England Feast. From lobster and blueberries to Vermont cheddar and pizza, New England cuisine encompasses a lot. Our host this month is Sarah Walker Caron who blogs at Sarah’s Cucina Bella.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats it’s a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the deliciousness we’ve put together for our celebration inspired dishes!

PIN IT! ‘New England Bloody Mary with Shrimp Cocktail’

Yield: 4 Cocktails

New England Bloody Mary Cocktail

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Shrimp

• 12 large shrimp
• 2 Tbsp butter
• Seasoning

For the New England Bloody Mary Mix (Makes enough for 4 cocktails)

• 11.5 oz. V8 juice (One can)
• 5.5 oz. Clamato juice (One can)
• 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. horseradish
• 3 pinches black pepper
• 3 pinches salt

For one Cocktail (Increase amounts depending on number of cocktails you are making)

• 1.5 oz. Ketel One® Vodka
• 3 oz Bloody Mary Base
• 3 Shrimp
• 1 lemon wedge
• 1 Celery spear (optional)

Instructions

For the Shrimp

1. Clean the shrimp leaving just the very end of the tail section attached and put into a bowl.
2. Melt the butter; then pour the butter and seasoning into bowl on top of shrimp and mix quickly. If the shrimp are cold the butter will start to clump up but that's OK.
3. Grill the shrimp over medium high heat approximately 2 minutes per side, just until pink and cooked through.

To Make the Cocktail

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka and Bloody Mary mix and shake until ice cold.
2. Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice.
3. Garnish each glass with 3 shrimp, a lemon wedge, and a celery spear (optional).