Red Snapper Cocktail Recipe: The Gin Bloody Mary

The Red Snapper is gin's answer to the Bloody Mary, a bold, spicy, savoury cocktail with a history dating back to Prohibition-era New York. The story goes that a French bartender at the King Cole Bar thought "Bloody Mary" was too gory a name for polite society, so the gin version became the Red Snapper instead.

The botanicals in the gin stand up beautifully against the tomato juice, giving it more depth than the vodka original. It's a brilliant brunch drink, and, with one simple garnish twist, it also makes a brilliantly grisly Halloween cocktail.

Here's how it all comes together.

Ingredients

• 50ml Batts Hill Surrey Dry Gin
• 100ml tomato juice
• 2 dashes of your favourite hot sauce
• 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• Plenty of ice

Method

• Fill a large glass with plenty of cubed ice.
• Pour in the Batts Hill Surrey Dry Gin, then add the tomato juice.
• Season with the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste if you like it extra savoury.
• Stir well and garnish with a lemon wedge or a stick of celery.

Halloween Variation: The Eyeball Garnish

Want to lean into the spook factor? Swap the usual garnish for a gin cocktail eyeball.

• Scoop out the inside of a radish with a melon baller or paring knife.
• Carve a few optical "veins" into the outside with a small knife.
• Insert a pimento-stuffed olive into the cavity and trim it flush with the radish.
• Spear the eyeball with a cocktail stick and use it as a swizzle stick.

Whether you're making this for a relaxed weekend brunch or a Halloween gathering, drink responsibly and enjoy.