Football season is upon us, folks! Some of you are fans. Some of you are crazy fanatical fans. And some of you all could care less. But I think we can all say that we are fans of tailgating and football parties and the tasty foods and drinks that those little get-togethers entail. 😉
Football game mornings to me have always meant bloody marys. I mean, you know… like years ago they did. I still like to partake in the occasional bloody mary on a crisp football game morning. I decided to give the traditional bloody mary a little sophisticated and flavorful twist with a super simple basil & garlic infused vodka.
So there are actually two recipes for you all this month… one for the infused vodka and another for the actual Basil & Garlic Bloody Mary.
Let’s start with that infused vodka, shall we? 😉 Make sure you start this at least two days before the weekend. It only needs 48 hours to fully infuse, but you do not want to remember that you forgot to make the vodka the night before the big game!
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Basil & Garlic Infused Vodka
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain vodka
- 2-3 garlic cloves- peeled and smashed
- handful fresh basil leaves roughly torn
Instructions
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Place the smashed garlic and basil in a pint sized jar. Pour the vodka over top. Place the lid on the jar and give it a good shake. Place on your counter and allow to infuse for at least 48 hours. Shake the jar 1-2 times per day.
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After 48 hours, strain the infused vodka into a bowl using a fine mesh strainer.
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Pour the vodka back into the pint jar.
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Use for your favorite bloody mary and martini cocktails.
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Enjoy!
Once you have your basil & garlic infused vodka, you can get started on whipping up that Basil & Garlic Bloody Mary…

Basil & Garlic Bloody Mary
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tomato juice
- 1 shot of basil & garlic infused vodka
- 2-3 dashes or to your preference of hot sauce
- 2-3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 2-3 dashes celery salt
- Juice from 1/2 a lime
Instructions
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Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker, and give it a few good shakes. Pour over ice into a tall glass. Garnish with celery, green olives, a pickle, whatever you prefer.
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Enjoy!
What is your favorite way to garnish a bloody mary?


Great idea Julie for basil garlic infused vodka. I love bloody maries. I’ve made pepper infused vodka before with great success but never thought of basil garlic. With football season upon us here in Hawaii first kickoff for college is at 6am so it’s great to have a bloody mary early in the morning. I just recently made some mix using diluted tomato paste instead of tomato juice. It works real well.
Carrie did a great job with this cocktail! A Bloody Mary totally makes me think of Saturday morning football games.
Thank you so much, ladies! 🙂
Carrie, this looks amazing! But you know how much I like a good bloody mary 😉
Hehe… That I do, Lisa! 😉 Thank you for stopping by WLOW to check out my newest cocktail creation.
Absolutely wonderful! I used to dry herbs and spices and then use them to season my bloody Mary. Then it dawned on me: Why not infuse those fresh flavors directly into the vodka. You’ve done a great job here. I love the photos! You are wise to only infuse a leafy herb for 48 hours. Things get overpowering and bitter very quickly after that period. (Peppers take a bit longer.)
Thanks for this great article. I plan to share it. Cheers!
So glad you liked the recipe Greg. Carrie did a great job with this cocktail!
Thank you so much, Greg! 🙂 We both definitely appreciate the share!
Sounds delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe at my link party! Pinning for sure!
Hi Carrie, this is yummy!
How do you store the vodka? I couldn’t decide wether fridge, freezer or room temp would preserve the taste best!
Thanks!
Hello Han!
I just store it a room temperature. 🙂