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Kimchi Bloody Mary

By Irene Yoo
Kimchi Bloody Mary with bottles of liquor and tomato juice and a glass
Photo by Heami Lee

I’ve been waking up to drink Bloody Marys ever since my college friends and I would gather to make big pitchers of them on weekend mornings to pregame brunch or a football game. The saltiness feels restorative while the spicy kick jolts me awake long enough to ease back into a nice little buzz. As the years have gone by, I’ve been perfecting my recipe—tweaking it just so to get the right amount of savory umami tartness. The kimchi brine is the secret hero here; just a splash of it brightens the cocktail while deepening it with a little funky je ne sais quoi. Don’t believe me? Ask the Bloody Mary GOAT trophy I won at the Food Network office party!

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    5 minutes

  • Yield

    Makes 1

Ingredients

Ice
2 oz. soju
4 oz. tomato juice
¼ oz. fresh lime juice
¼ oz. fresh lemon juice
¼ oz. soy sauce
½ oz. kimchi brine
A few dashes of fish sauce
Kosher salt and gochugaru (optional), for garnish
Kimchi (optional), for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In an ice-filled cocktail shaker, combine 2 oz. soju, 4 oz. tomato juice, ¼ oz. fresh lime juice, ¼ oz. fresh lemon juice, ¼ oz. soy sauce, ½ oz. kimchi brine, and a few dashes of fish sauce and shake to blend. (Alternatively, use two pint glasses to pour it back and forth to mix.)

    Step 2

    If desired, mix equal amounts kosher salt and gochugaru on a small plate. Moisten the rim of the glass with a lime wedge or water, then dip the rim in the gochugaru salt and twist to coat.

    Step 3

    Pour the drink into an ice-filled pint glass. Garnish with some kimchi skewered on a toothpick (if using).

Cover of Soju Party pouring a drink
From Soju Party: How to Drink (and Eat!) Like a Korean © 2025 by Irene Yoo. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.
TagsCookbooksCocktailAlcoholBeveragesBloody MaryKoreanEast AsianAsianDairy FreeNut FreeBrunch

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