Marx Food Cocktails And Mocktails Recipe Contest-Bloody Mary And Plum Juniper Berry Fizz

Bloody Mary

This months challenge from Marx Foods is to make 2 drinks a Cocktail which would include alcohol and a Mocktail, well you know what that is, no booze. All of us that participate in this challenge were sent a box of goodies, spices and other items, one of which has to be used in each drink. I received, saffron, juniper berries, dill and fennel pollen, long pepper and dried fresh pineapple. We have to use at least one of these items in each drink. I do so love a challenge and this in particular was challenging for me as I am not an accomplished mixologist, honestly the extent of my expertise is opening a bottle of beer or wine. I do love a good cocktail or mocktail as long as someone else mixes it for me.

My first entry is a Bloody Mary, that I tweaked a bit, it’s not your traditional drink other than the fact that it contains tomato juice. For this drink I used two of the ingredients from Marx Foods, the long pepper and fennel pollen. I used the long pepper instead of black pepper and rimmed the glass with a combination of kosher salt and fennel pollen. It’s a bit spicy thanks to the long pepper and hot sauce, a bit tart from the lemon and I also added a pinch of sumac which is both peppery and citrusy. It’s best to make the tomato juice mix the day before serving so that everything melds together.  I was happy with how it turned out, maybe I’ll start mixing more cocktails from now on.

The mocktail was a lot of fun to make. I wanted to use something seasonal,  I had some beautiful methley plums, (they are so gorgeous with their dark almost black skin and bright red flesh), that were perfectly ripe and I thought that the juniper berries would go beautifully with them. I love the combination, the syrup with ripe plums, sugar and juniper berries is delicious, so good I am thinking it would make outstanding jam. This drink is very simple, plum juniper syrup, sparkling water and lime. The plums with the juniper berries give it a complex flavor and the lime gives it some zing, It’s pretty too!!