8 Tomato Cocktails That Go Way Beyond The Bloody Mary

As spring slips into summer, bars across the country are spotlighting tomatoes, one of the season’s juiciest and most versatile ingredients, into cocktails. From garden-fresh martinis to savory-sweet negronis, the tomato keeps making a splash. Here are eight outstanding tomato cocktails with recipes for you to try at home, ranging from inventive and complex to dangerously sippable.

Contadino

Created by The Four Walls team at The Joseph Nashville, this beautiful cocktail is savory and herbaceous. “Inspired by the abundance of fresh ingredients found in local Nashville markets, this cocktail celebrates the rustic, simple pleasures of farm-fresh flavors,” says Mickey Stevenson, head bartender.

• 2 oz. Grey Goose Vodka
• 2 oz. tomato water
• 0.5 oz basil-infused dry vermouth
• 2 dashes celery bitters
• 5 g feta cheese, crumbled
• Pinch of oregano
• Pinch of MSG

In a shaker, combine vodka, tomato water, basil-infused dry vermouth, celery bitters, crumbled feta, oregano, and MSG. Fill the shaker with ice and stir vigorously for 15 seconds to incorporate and chill. Double strain into a chilled double rocks glass over a large ice cube or fresh ice.

Create a red tomato rose by thinly slicing, preferably on a mandolin, into a long strip and rolling it into a rose shape. Freeze overnight for an elegant, structured garnish.

Tomato water

Blend fresh red tomatoes until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to extract a clear liquid. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Basil-infused Dry Vermouth

Lightly bruise one cup of fresh basil leaves by rolling them between your fingers to release essential oils. Place the basil leaves (and optional lemon zest) into a clean glass jar. Pour 750ml of Dry Vermouth (Dolin, Noilly Prat, or Carpano Dry recommended) over the basil, ensuring all leaves are submerged. Seal the jar and let sit at room temperature for 24-48 hours. Shake gently once or twice a day to enhance the infusion. After 24-48 hours, add a pinch of feta and strain through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove the solids. Transfer to a sterilized bottle for storage. Store in the refrigerator to maintain freshness. It will last 2-3 months before flavors begin to fade.

El Vampirito

Available at Casa Salles in Tequila, Mexico, this riff on the classic Mexican Vampiro cocktail was created by the team at El Tequileño.

• 2 oz. El Tequileño Platinum
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 2 oz. tomato juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• Tabasco Sauce
• Salt

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a rocks glass rimmed with salt over cubed ice, and garnish with a fresh jalapeño.

Tavola Dieci

Bobby Mitchell, the talented mixologist at Casa Don Alfonso at the Ritz Carlton St. Louis, created this dirty martini that combines vodka infused with Italian herbs and cherry tomatoes, Italian vermouth, and a basil-rosemary-garlic infusion for the ultimate addition to the savory cocktail menu.

• 2 oz. Italian herb-infused Grey Goose Vodka
• ¾ oz. blended brine
• ½ oz. Contratto Bianco Vermouth
• 3 cherry tomatoes
• Basil salt

In a cocktail shaker, add cherry tomatoes and muddle to extract the juices and color. Next, add Italian herb Grey Goose vodka, blended brine, and Contratto Bianco vermouth to your shaker. Top with ice, close it up tightly, and shake vigorously for 5-8 seconds. Using a Hawthorne strainer, pour over a fine strainer into a chilled martini coupe. The vigorous shake will give the beverage a beautiful creamy foam on top of the martini, and the beverage will have a slightly red hue.

To finish off, add a skewered cherry tomato and cocktail onion, drizzled in olive oil and dusted with basil salt.

Italian herb infused vodka

Add two full stems of rosemary (destemmed), 6-8 basil leaves, and two crushed cloves of garlic to a container along with one 750 ML bottle of your preferred neutral spirit. Allow it to sit and infuse for two days in a cool, unlit space. After two days, strain through a coffee filter or cheesecloth and return to the bottle to store.

Blended brine

Combine 150 ml olive brine, 100 ml cocktail onion brine, and 100 ml jarred jalapeño brine for a flavorful combination of salinity, slight heat, and savoriness to accompany the Italian herb flavors. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for further use.

Basil salt

Finely grind a few dehydrated basil leaves and combine with your favorite coarse salt. This will add a delicious herbal salinity to your cocktail, and it’s great for using in other applications as well.

An additional note on using sous vide from Bobby Mitchell:

“You don’t need a fancy sous vide machine to start experimenting—if you’ve ever done any home canning, you’re already halfway there. A deep pot, a thermometer, and a steady hand can get you remarkably close.

Put whatever you want sous vide in a jar, then just keep the water bath at a consistent 130°F to 150°F, and use a towel at the bottom of the pot to keep jars from rattling. Make sure to either ‘burp’ the jars periodically or poke steam holes in the top. I’ve done spiced bourbons and basil syrups this way, and the results are just as impressive.

It’s all about slow, gentle heat—which coaxes out flavor without cooking it off. It’s one of those tricks that makes you feel like a pro, even if you’re just doing it on a Saturday afternoon in your kitchen.”

Pizza Party Negroni

At Superfrico Niko Novick, Executive of Beverage, created this riff on the classic in which tomato and olives meet negroni tradition. “The Pizza Party Negroni is a playful nod to the late-night slice. We took the bones of a classic Negroni and gave it a savory twist with tomato water, evoking that craveable, herbaceous flavor of pizza without ever picking up a fork. It’s unexpected, a little irreverent, and pure fun in a glass,” says Mauro Villalobos, beverage director at Superfrico Las Vegas.

• 1 oz. Askur Gin
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 1 oz. Campari
• 0.5 oz. tomato water

Pour all the ingredients into a glass and stir. Serve in a double rocks glass with a large ice cube topped with a sprinkle of Maldon salt. Garnish with pickled teardrop peppers.

Tomato water

• 1 whole plum or Roma tomato, quartered
• 3–5 fresh basil leaves (depending on size)
• Optional: a few whole olives
• 3 oz. cocktail base (e.g., gin)

Place all ingredients in a sealed sous vide bag or heat-safe jar. Sous vide at 30°C (86°F) for one hour. After one hour, strain out solids (tomato, basil, olives) and save the tomato water.

Tomato Tree

Shingo Gokan, founder of SG Group and co-creator of Sip and Guzzle, is the mind behind this culinary masterclass in clarified tomato and dill. “With the Tomato Tree, I wanted to capture the essence of the entire plant—from root to fruit. Each element tells a part of the story: the tomato is the fruit, dill and basil are the leaves, elderflower the blossom, and mastiha the sap running through it all. The cherry tomato confit in Sauternes and honey is a moment of surprise, meant to be savored halfway through.”

• 1.75 oz. tomato water
• 0.13 oz. dill infused Roku Gin (about 1 barspoon)
• 0.25 oz. dill infused SG Shochu KOME
• 0.50 oz. Skinos Mastiha
• 0.50 oz. St. Germain
• 0.50 oz. clarified lemon juice

Shake all ingredients and pour in a salt rimmed glass. Garnish with marinated cherry tomato.

Tomato Water: Blend tomatoes and strain through coffee filters. Restrain through pulp until clear.

Dill-Infused Roku Gin: Combine 750ml Roku Gin and 15g dill. Vacuum seal and cook sous vide at 52°C for 2 hours.

Dill-Infused SG Shochu KOME: Combine 750ml SG Shochu KOME and 15g dill. Vacuum seal and cook sous vide at 52°C for 2 hours.

Clarified Lemon Juice: 600ml lemon juice and 1g Agar Agar: Heat 100ml lemon juice to a simmer and slowly add the agar agar while stirring. Combine with cold juice and store in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Strain through a coffee filter until clear.

Marinated Cherry Tomatoes: Combine 400g peeled cherry tomatoes, 300g Sauternes and 100g raw honey. Heat wine and honey until alcohol has evaporated. Cool, add cherry tomatoes and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Maria Sin Sangre

Served at Clover Club, this “bloodless Mary” is the creation of cocktail book author Julie Reiner. “I wanted to create a savory cocktail with a spring/ summer vibe for the menu at Clover Club,” she says. “Tequila works beautifully in savory drinks as it pairs well with tomato, basil, cilantro, and peppers – I love the combination of tomato and agave spirits. By using tomato water instead of tomato juice, you get a much thinner texture. I incorporated a little lemon juice to add acidity, medium dry sherry for aroma, and salt and pepper to enhance all of those flavors.”

• 6 cherry tomatoes
• 6 basil leaves
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• 2 ounces blanco tequila (I recommend El Tesoro)
• ½ oz. dry sherry (I recommend Williams Humbert medium-dry)
• ½ oz. lemon juice
• Pinch salt and pepper

In the bottom of a shaker, muddle the tomatoes and basil in the simple syrup. Add the tequila, sherry, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and shake with ice until chilled. Double strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a coupe glass. To create the garnish, pierce a small hole in the top of the tomato and insert the stem of the basil leaf like a flag. Make a slit in the bottom of the tomato and perch the tomato on the rim of the glass.

Umami Mary

Created by Kenta Goto, owner of Bar Goto and Bar Goto Niban, created this Japanese-inspired “Mary” which they serve at Bar Goto Niban.

“We use two types of Iichiko shochu, Silhouette and Saiten. Both are made from barley, but the first is gentle and clean while the second is rich and earthy. We use Silhouette as the main ingredient in the cocktail; however, it’s only 50 proof, so we add Saiten (86 proof) to bring up overall proof in the drink. We don’t use any Worcestershire or hot sauce here. Instead, we infuse Silhouette with serrano chiles and let the heat and the vegetal note interact with the umami notes from Saiten.”

• 1 oz. dashi infused iichiko Silhouette
• .5 oz. iichiko Saiten
• .25 oz. lemon Juice
• .25 oz. lime Juice
• 4 oz. tomato juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin, add ice, and roll between two shakers. Strain into a highball glass and serve.

Garden Martini

Served at Valerie, this take on the classic was created by beverage director Marshall Minaya, adding a hint of flavor with tomato “caviar.”

• 1 oz The Botanist Islay Gin
• 1 oz Fundy Gin
• 0.75 oz Herb infused Vermouth
• 0.25 oz Genepy

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass or mix tin, fill with ice and stir to ideal dilution and temperature. Garnish with tomato caviar on a demitasse spoon.

Tomato Caviar

• ¾ cup tomato juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. agar agar
• ½ qt. cold vegetable oil

Place vegetable oil into the freezer. Add tomato juice to a small sauce pan and bring to boil, add agar agar and reduce heat stirring constantly. Allow to simmer for a few minutes and remove from heat. Allow to cool for two minutes and place into a squeeze bottle. Slowly drip mixture into cold oil to form the ‘caviar’.

Which one of these tomato cocktails will you try first?