Slopeside Bar and Grill, Steamboat Springs, CO

I had one of these bad boys last year with my brother Jeff and I recalled them being pretty good. This is still on the heels of my embarrassing knee tweak injury thingy and of course seeing a bar at the bottom makes everything feel better, especially when the rest of the group wants to keep skiing. I don't blame them, it was gorgeous and it was only like 12:30... I'm still angry I didn't suck it up and keep going but the bloody made me feel slightly better. The seating outside watching the slopes was a bonus too. This bloody has by far the best picture.

Appearance: 7/10 One of them blasted plastic cups but remember the waste thingy or whatever... Great floaties and the horseradish floaties are always fun! Perfect red color.

Garnishes: 3/10 Stupid lemon and lime. Token Olive

Spice/Bang: 6/10 Good flavor with the horseradish. Taste a lot like calvin and cleos horseradish mix but it was fine. Like I said, the setting adds to the flavor. The rim of had some flavored salt that added a little as well.

Desire: 8/10 Due to the setting I would crush one of these at any time. If it was at just any bar it would still be fine but nothing special.

Price: 7/10 I don't remember the price but it was under $8 which was kind of surprising given the location. Remember that with a location like this you can't get real picky on price.

Overall: 31/50 A solid bloody mary but I expected more. Everything was pointing in the right direction until the STUPID LEMON AND LIME... and plastic cup. I'm getting picky now.. Remember though, I would take this anytime because Steamboat. That is all.

Rendezvous Mountain Lodge, Steamboat Springs, CO

Ever since the bloody on top of Winter Park I had been looking forward to another on the slope bloody mary. Finally, after a solid day and a half of skiing we stopped at a lodge and ordered ourselves a couple bloodies. I have to say that right before this I attempted a very feeble jump and in the process of stopping after a successful landing my band director athleticness took over and I tumbled a bit, doing something to a knee in the process so things were a little tender. Nothing a few ibuprofen and a bloody couldn't possibly fix! I saw the big container of infused vodka and my eyes lit up...

Appearance: 6/10 Now this is kind of a low number but the plastic cup wasn't really doing it for me however they had some waste/recycle initiative going on... blah blah blah.. I need to tell you about the infused vodka. It was sitting real pretty on the counter with a plethora of pickled veggies tossed in. I really wish I could've had a shot of it to taste the explosion of flavors! Great floaties, homemade mix and solid red color. 

Garnishes: 6/10 I'm going to award a few extra points for the pickled green bean. This is a new thing and I like it, plus it tasted good. I also liked the olive and the pepperocini and the lack of lime, thank you!! 

Spice/Bang: 7/10 A little spicier than one would think but the assortment of peppers in the infused vodka did it's job. A sneaky spice that makes your eyes water slightly and your nose get all sniffly. Fun flavor really and something that warms you right up after some cool ski runs! 

Desire: 9/10 I would crush one of these again right now; one because it was pretty tasty and two, the location was the best as it would mean that I am skiing again. 

Price: 8/10 Honestly I do not now the price as a very pretty lady bought it for me but at a place like this you don't really think about the price. It is probably going to be kind of pricey but look at the location! 

Overall: 36/10 A great bloody mary with even better views and the best setting! A little bolder flavor would give this thing a big kick! (Worchesterchire(sp?)....)

The Tap House, Steamboat Springs, CO

After a long day of skiing under bluebird skies and champagne powder and hustling to Sunday night mass nothing is better than a delightful bloody mary. A ski town can't mess up a bloody anywhere can they? I mean my reviews for Rex's weren't the best but they were still solid bloody marys, the bar is just raised in a location such as Steamboat. I mean this is not Fremont anymore so everything must be better...

The hardest thing to do is to pick where to eat. Seriously, everyone always says "I don't care.." but secretly everyone does care. The previous year we ventured to a place called the Tap House and had good success minus watching the Huskers struggle with USC but that's besides the point, a standard thing these days. (We did beat UCLA a few days ago so things are looking up, #Riledup). Anyway, after the disappointment of not having Busch Light I remembered that I was craving a bloody mary. I have Bar ADD... I get real disoriented and stuff and forget what life is when I walk in a bar.

Appearance: 3/10 This is a tough category to get points in because the standard thing to do is put the drink in a glass and add a straw. I'm looking for fun glasses or anything unique. Nothing unique with this bad boy... Average red color and very few floaties. 

Garnishes: 4/10 Neat olive and pepperocini but the pepper was mini which means partially worthless. Interesting approach on the lemon but you know how I feel about lemons and limes....

Spice/Bang: 4/10 I have to be honest. Nothing about the flavor jumps out at me nor do I remember hardly anything. I mean this was like 3 days ago and if it doesn't stand out then it must've been lame. I remember drinking it very quickly so the chugability must've been alright. 

Desire: 2/10 If I don't remember it now then I don't want to go back for the bloody, great chili burger though! 

Price: 2/10 A little pricey for the flavor

Overall: 15/50 Don't waste your time with the bloody. I was much more interested in the craft beer list and sampling some of those. Great food as well. 

Rex's, Steamboat Springs, CO, "Burnin' Bacon Bloody"

This is my second post from Rex's so you can read the other one for more details. This bloody sounded fun because it included BACON! Yay BACON!

Appearance: 7.5/10  Honestly you can give me a crispy piece of bacon hanging out of any bloody and I'll give you at least a 7/10 in appearance, even though the bacon is a garnish. I DON'T CARE!  Dumb glass and stupid black straw. 

Garnish: 7/10 Bacon is great and is a point gainer garnish! You know what isn't?... lemons and limes. Dumb! The pepperocini is a nice addition and the olive. Where is the pickle? Disappointment.

Spice/Bang: 5/10 Really disappointed because anything with bacon should be great! The burnin' part of the bloody was kind of nice but nothing more than a tabasco like flavor and doesn't deserve a special title. 

Desire: 4/10 If I went back to Rex's this would be the bloody I would get but I'm not sure I would make a special trip to Rex's just for this, I would rather explore other bars! 

Price: 3/10 Yes this is a ski town but no, this establishment was not on the mountain. It was attached to a blasted Holiday Inn for goodness sake! Since it was happy hour when we were there we got a dollar off drinks so the bloody was $7.

Rex's, Steamboat Springs, CO "Burn Your Face Off"

If you haven't guessed by the title we took a ski trip to the gorgeous Steamboat Springs in Northern Colorado, nestled in the grand Rocky Mountains. What a beautiful place and what they call champagne powder is truly champagne powder. I wanted to lay in the snow and drink it up like a morning mimosa.... except I forgot the orange juice! The best thing about ski trips besides subtle nips of cinnamon flavored drinks and the fellowship of the trip mates are the bloody marys. The first night we hit up Rex's, a bar/fine dining establishment attached to the Holiday Inn. There were 3 bloody marys on the window and I worked my way through two of them. My buddy ordered the other one and I tried it... Not worth the time of day or the effort to type the words. Plus, when something is called "Burn Your Face Off" you try it.

Appearance: 5/10 Lame standard glass with dumb black straw. Honestly, are they trying to hide the beverage as it comes through the straw? Give me clear or give me Busch Light!!!! The chili/lime salted glass rim was kinda neat. 

Garnishes: 6.5/10 There was a lemon and a lime. Double the illness. Get that crap out of my drink. If you still get lemon or lime with your water you need to reevaluate! Put the juice in, not the peel! The pepperocini was great, the olive too and then there was pickled jalapenos and I believe pickled celery chunks. A new idea! 

Spice/Bang: 6/10 If the establishment is going to tell me that my face will burn off I expect my face to burn off. My nose hardly got a sniffle and my eyes didn't even water and if they did it was from pure emotion from looking at the lovely lady seated next to me. Don't get me wrong, the flavor was good but the name was inappropriate. Perhaps spicy bloody would be better. The Absolut Peppar was good and the habanero mix was fine but it was missing the habanero flavor....

Desire: 5/10 A fair bloody but would not go to the establishment again just for this bloody. The happy hour was kind of neat though with the prices for food being kind of reasonable. 

Price: 3/10 Yes this is a ski town but no, this establishment was not on the mountain. It was attached to a blasted Holiday Inn for goodness sake! Since it was happy hour when we were there we got a dollar off drinks so the bloody was $7. Still pricey, especially when my face was not burnt off.

Overall: 25/10 Really average. If in steamboat you need to go elsewhere. Nice try Rex's. 

Tanner's, Omaha

I have a good friend I'll call Mikey who talks a lot about and spends a lot of time at a place called Tanner's. I'm not going to go into detail on the amount of time he spends there or what he does there but it's enough to interest me in the establishment. Oh -and they serve chicken wings. I'm not going to start in on the incredible feels chicken wings give me.. I was there early in the evening and bloody marys are always good early so I decided to enjoy one!

Appearance: 6/10 The plastic cup is gimmicky but kind of fun and shows the trade mark chicken lips. Super trendy! 

Garnishes: 5/10 Interesting approach... the salted rim is kind of neat but pretty useless when there is a straw. Why not salt the rim of the straw? That'd be really dumb but would get effort points! The pickle was in the form of dill chips.... Different but unique... and the STUPID LIME! I don't like limes... talk about a case for cryptospordiosis. Good on the olives.

Spice/Bang: 7/10 Zing Zang. Nothing ever goes wrong with Zing Zang. Good floaties, good vodka/mixer ratio and a fun color with a deep red hue. 

Desire: 7/10 I would absolute go to Tanners again for the bloody. What a great place to watch a game with an 11am kick off and yes..... the wings, oh the wings. They were so good. And I have to admit, when the bloody has a great mate, like the wings, it makes every day better. I could've eaten 30 of the wings. Remind me to go back with stretchy pants next time! 

Price: 6/10 The price was $4 which isn't terrible and is competitive so I can't use it as an excuse. 

Overall: 31/50  A really solid bar bloody. Paired with chicken wings the bad boy makes me turn into a smiley drooling good boy! I highly recommend kicking off a game day with a Tanner's bloody! 

Sake Bloody, Hu Hot, Omaha

Oh boy.... I love HuHot, everything about it. The food is great and the total body cleanse shortly after eating the food is a nice thing every once in awhile. Gotta get those toxins out of the body. I suppose there is an essential oil for that but I prefer sesame oil, baby corns and lots of other things tossed together in some samurai sauce! This was a Sunday noon meal and of course a bloody sounded pretty good. Apparently bloodies are not traditional Asian drinks but the bartender said they mix bloody mary mix with sake... I'll take it! Good thing I was quick to answer because I immediately regretted the decision but the order was placed....

Appearance: 5/10 Super trendy glass and decent color but not very much ice and just an overall weirdness. Hard to explain...

Garnishes: 0/10 Nothing

Spice/Bang: 2/10 Well.... to be fair this is an awkward bloody that doesn't have a home. It's like a mimosa meets bloody mary and has offspring that doesn't fit in either family... It tasted neat for a little bit and then was bad.

Desire: 1/10 If I would like to play a sick joke on  friend I might order one for the both of us. They are good for a drink or two and then drinkable but honestly, never again.

Price: 2/10 I don't remember the price but that means it wasn't great but wasn't really expensive. Who cares, don't get one.

Overall: 10/50 Go to HuHot for the mongolian food, not the bloodies. End of story.

Alice's, Creston, Nebraska

I was still on a high from the taste of Tammy's bloody mary at Calamus Lodge. This was a mental thing, not a too much bloody thing. We were on our way back to Fremont and had a little extra time. Why not check out a small town bar and have a quick bite to eat? Creston seemed like the place to do it and we got lucky with Alice's Cedar Bar. A trendy spot and the food was great. I really wish I wasn't still full from breakfast. $8 for a cheeseburger and fries with a soup and salad bar. I love salad bars..... That's a different story. Of course since we are full swing into bloody mary season I had to sample one.

Appearance: 4/10 Neat glass, weak red, 2 straws...? Why 2 straws? A few floaties I guess. 

Garnishes: 2/10 Super trendy salt around the rim. That is it. 

Spice/Bang: 3/10 This thing had zing zang in but unfortunately I could hardly taste it because of the overwhelming taste of bottom shelf vodka. Disclaimer... I don't mind using bottom shelf vodka, just don't use half of the bottle in one drink and not jazz it up! 

Desire: 2/10 I would love to crush this salad bar again but probably not going to make it back for the bloody mary alone. 

Price: 5/10 $3 is a nice price for a not as nice drink. 

Overall: 16/50 It's hard to mess up a bloody mary with zing zang in but if you put ZERO EFFORT IN THE DRINK YOU WILL GET ZERO RESULTS! 

Calamus Lodge, Burwell, Nebraska

It's officially bloody mary season again! Oh, you didn't know there was a season? This just means it's socially acceptable to drink more bloody mary's more frequently and talk about them. During the spring and summer I become a fair weather bm drinker... meaning when I'm at golf scrambles or when I'm thirsty for a bloody. A couple of other things going on this time of year help bring on the thirst, football and hunting. Disclaimer: don't drink them until after the hunt is over..... Disclaimer 2: Go Big Red is starting to mean Go have a Big Red bloody mary... haha Michigan State, remember when Nebraska lost to Purdouche and then beat y'all..?!

On to the review... I really enjoy hunting the Calamus Lake area. The drive isn't always super fun real early in the morning so I thought it would be a great time to get a cheap hotel room and get some sleep before hunting. Calamus Lodge is what I came up with and to be honest... I was nervous. The reviews weren't great and I simply didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be awesome! 5 of us got to the lodge at about 8:45pm and found the bar still open. Hot dang! This hotel had a bar right next to it and it served food, meaning dinner and breakfast. There was one other  group of duck hunters eating. Tammy Hruza, the owner of the hotel and bar was very kind and took great care of us. We had some of the best homemade chicken fried steaks and delicious busch lights. The hotel room was solid and got the job done. Our hunt went well, didn't shoot many ducks but it was a gorgeous morning. We quit a bit early because the bar closed at 11am and we wanted to get in there for some more breakfast and some more of Tammy's delightful personality. The food and bloody did not disappoint...!

Appearance: 5/10 Ok, this is a down home bar that isn't about being fancy but simply getting the product out there. I don't care if my bloody mary is in a white styrofoam cup, a chalice or a fancy glass, I just want it to taste good. However, appearance is part of the grading scale so I have to give it a number. There were floaties but I couldn't stare at them, only feel them on my tongue. Average but useful.

Garnishes: 7/10 To the point, delicious, clean, simple. An olive and pickle give my tastebuds a tickle!

Spice/Bang: 8/10 Zing Zang sauces it up just right every.single.time. A litte tabasco and a generous helping of celery salt. Simple but effective. Great chugability! (I did have two of them because I forgot to take a picture of the first one... hehehe)

Desire: 7/10 Would love to go back right now. Of course this would mean another hunting trip but the bar and Tammy were very welcoming and enjoyable! Good food, good drinks, good people, good bloody!

Price: 5/10 Sometimes the best part about small town bars is the small prices! This bloody was $4 which is a bit more than I was expecting but the size was good and Tammy has to make money somehow!

Overall: 32/50 A great bloody mary thanks to the location, the people I was with and Tammy, the owner/waitress/bartender/goodperson. Next time she said she would use Sriracha UV in the drink.... oh boy, I have to go back. Soon!

Fremont Golf Club, Dining Room, Fremont

During a few golf outings last year I remember having a bloody mary or 3 at Fremont Golf Club but I didn't know enough to really give them a good rating, nothing made them stand out as being terrible which is good. I see myself spending a lot more time at the club for a few different reasons so this is a real important review. Before I started I had already planned on doing separate reviews for the dining room bloody and the on course bloody so plan on the on-course bloody review coming out later this year.

Appearance: 6/10 Check out the dimples in the glass at the bottom. Great grip and a nice discussion point for the table guests. Desirable red color and sleek presentation. (That dang lime....)

Garnishes: 4/10 Here's the dealio, great stuff with the olives and the salt on the rim but the STUPID LIME bothers me. A standard thing though for most establishments so I can't take off too many points. 

Spice/Bang: 6/10 I'm concerned. This thing tasted great and went down way too quick and smooth. If the on course one's taste like this.... ruh roh.! Not a huge flavor or real spice but excellent chugability. 

Desire: 7/10 I can't wait to have another. This means I was either golfing, or thinking about golfing, or about to golf, or looking at the golf course. It is a quality drank though and something that will highlight any round of golf, unless of course you see Rory across the course and watch him toss a club in the lake. That would be ultra rewarding. 

Price: 5/10 Another one where I'm not 100$ sure of the price. I believe it was about $4.50 which isn't terrible. At a place like this is standard to be kinda pricey. Most people will drink them regardless.

Overall: 28/50 Really a solid bloody mary. If you have noticed with the blog it's rather difficult to get an outstanding score so anything over 25 is pretty solid. A drink that is sure to make any round of golf great. 

Spruce Street Tavern

Valley, Nebraska situated in the valley between the scenic Platte and Elkhorn Rivers. Really, a pretty nice town. A few of us happened to be in town for a certain reason and following the reason we felt it was necessary to check out a local establishment. Our guide was a resident of Valley so we followed his guidance and found ourselves in the comfy chairs of the Spruce Street Tavern. I was impressed with the small dive bar and the cat calls from the two older women at the bar really helped boost my experience. Of course I ordered a bloody mary and the barmaid proceeded to make up a drink with nothing short of 320 ingredients.

Appearance: 6/10 Trendy mug. Good Size. Sneaky Olive. A few floaties, nice red color but not too red, ya know?

Garnishes: 3/10 Green Olives are good. Not a loss of points for no lime or lemon thats for sure. Would like other thing though.

Spice/Bang: 5/10 Great chugability but still some kick, tabasco flavor but definitely hints of worchestire and tomatoey goodness. Good flavor!

Desire: 7/10 I would absolutely stop by to "Spruce" things up a little bit anytime I was in the area. I probably won't make any trip specifically for the drink but ya never know.

Price: 5/10  I'm going to be honest. I don't know what the price was. A friend offered to pick up the tab so I didn't not take things any further. I'm assuming it wasn't crazy expensive or crazy cheap. Worth about $4.50.

Overall: 26/50 Slightly above average drink. A few more garnishes would help. Nothing extravagant but this is the type of bloody mary that just makes you feel good.

Mother's Resaurant, New Orleans, LA

It was the last night at a conference in New Orleans and I made my way around the corner to a local cafeteria a guy had told me about.  Mother's Restaurant in New Orleans was to be a great spot for soul crushing meal and a couple of last minute drinks before sauntering down Bourbon street to see the sights.  The Restaurant is a cafeteria style joint that's been open for damn near 100 years.  There was a fairly long line which only meant that I was in the right place. The Bloody Mary was featured on the menu but disconcertingly came served from a bubbler (pictured at bottom)  that is usually reserved for your standard weird juice stuff at your local Mexican restaurant. I ordered the largest platter I could find, a bloody, and made my way to an open table.  

Appearance: 4/10  A couple of points for the plastic cup, which seems counter-intuitive, but in this case it matches the no nonsense approach of the cafeteria style restaurant.  One additional point for the celery but really nothing else to command many points here.  The drink just didn't look that great. The deep red color was 

Garnishes: 2/10 One limp shaft of celery and an olive floating freely somewhere is worth a couple points but nothing more.  No salt on the rim. 

Spice/Bang: 6/10 Good spice and quite a few floaties made for a nice drank.  I did add some Louisiana hot sauce, because, why not.  

Desire:  8/10 A decent bloody in a classic joint. While there's no crazy garnishes or views,  the food that accompanies the bloody is also important.   If the Bloody was served in a vaccum, which would be a crazy mess, i wouldn't get it again.  Here, the classic Louisiana cajun fare was as good as any i've had and I'd go back in a heartbeat for this reason alone. 

Price: 5/10  Price was $7 which wasn't too bad but maybe just a little expensive for the plastic glass and cafeteria style delivery.   Additionally, since it was premixed, i can only assume the vodka was from a large plastic bottle.  I could tell you if it was good or bad vodka, if I could have actually noticed there was sauce in it.  But the plate of food drown out a lot of my vodka tasting abilities.  

Overall: 25/50  This place has the potential to have a killer drink if they'd just put a tiny bit of work into it.  Put it in a glass, salt the rim, and add a shrimp on a spear or something and this would score points with the heat of a 1000 suns. Instead, it's a pretty okay drink served with America's best food.  Consequently, it scores better than below average.  Enjoy the picture of the food, it's the Seafood Platter Extra Extra.  Turnip greens changed my life.


-Jeff
 Guest Writer for the Bloodiest of Marys

Franky and Olys, Fremont

This marks week 2 of our tradition Sunday bloody exploration day. Franky and Olys is an interesting bar in Fremont, good pizza and that's about it. A chance for sneaky good bloody maybe? We had to look past the dirty appearance of the bar and the musty smell. I asked the bartender if I could get a Bloody mary and he said that he could try to make one. Great.......

Appearance: 2/10 Small glass, poorly mixed and no mixing straw for me to mix it with. Zero floaties.

Garnishes: 3/10 Olives are a nice touch as always and the asparagus was something different although it was so pale and limp it almost made me a bit queasy.

Spice/Bang: 1/10 Tasted like vodka with a hint of tomato juice. No spice, no nothing.

Desire: 1/10 Never again

Price: 1/10 $4.50 for this midget drink? Disappointing.

Overall: 8/50  Don't do it. Order a pizza if you feel like going to Franky and Olys and get some keg Busch Light.

Dempsey's Burger Pub, Lincoln

I had been thinking about this bloody mary for a while, ever since someone showed me a picture. I have to admit, I messed up this bar experience with my poor ordering skills but that's ok, I just doubled my bloody mary experience and got a little bit more primed for the Nebrasketball game. Turns out I was going to need it, slow first half... I first ordered a bloody mary, thinking that it would be the bloody every one had talked about. Nope, just your standard bloody with a few garnishes and a decent flavor. Fighting back tears I asked the waitress what happened to the bloody with all of the garnishes? Had I been misinformed? Was it all a lie? She told me.. she told me that it was called the blooming bloody and asked if I wanted one. YES PLEASE!

Appearance: 9/10 It's hard looking past the garnishes and only at the sauce but I think that's ok. If they choose to distract you like that then go with it. The red was a deep red with great floaties. Good stuff.

Garnishes: 10/10 IN YOUR LIFE have you seen anything this magnificent?? This is the holy grail of bloodies. Vegetables, spice, beef, chicken, cheese, bacon... I'm still speechless

Spice/Bang: 8/10 The actual drink was really a bit average but after mixing with some of the pickled goodness, plunging the korean bbq wing in it and chasing the slider I had just pushed past my teeth the beverage came alive!

Desire: 9/10 Honestly, It's just a good time. How can anything be wrong ever with this blooming beauty sitting in front of you. I can't wait to bring all of my friends down.

Price: 8/10 $11 is obviously steep but look what you get? Not just a bloody, not just an appetizer but a life experience!

Overall: 44/50 A great great great experience. Check it out! The burger we had with it, yes I'm legally obese, was fantastic. Do yourself a favor and get to Dempsey's asap. Cheers!

The Wooden Windmill, Fremont

Slowly becoming a Sunday tradition, meaning we have done it two weeks in a row, is sampling a new bloody mary after church. Just the way Jesus wanted it I think as I'm pretty sure Mary and Joseph took young boy Jesus out for Sunday dinner and Joseph probably downed one or two Bethlehem bloodys. Last Sunday was a trip to the Wooden Windmill. Nice place with the biggest menu I've ever seen, but the food comes out pretty well so life is good. The husker bloody or what ever they called it was listed as a specialty drink on the menu so it has to be good.. Right? 

Appearance: 5/10 A trendy glass really adds. The handle comes in nice and handy when the beverage is super cold. A lot of celery salt on top made an interesting sight, thought it was fly dung for a second... A decent looking red for once! Very few floaties.

Garnishes: 2/10 If you read this blog at all you should know how I feel about lemons or limes as a garnish. They take up space and this is how diseases are spread. Lord only knows that the peel has touched and most people squeeze them and drown them... no thanks. 

Spice/Bang: 3/10 Not a lot of flavor here but there was a bit of a smoky presence and richer tomato taste in some drinks. Absolutely no spice. 

Desire: 3/10 Not going to go back for just the bloody mary but the food is pretty tasty and might I then order another one..? Maybe..

Price: 2/10 $6.50 for this thing? Yowza

Overall: 15/50 Another Fremont bloody mary that isn't up to par. Maybe somewhere in this town is a hidden gem. 

Brewsky's, South Lincoln

During a snowy Nebrasketball game sometimes what one needs most is a drink. Especially when Nebrasketball is really struggling. The least I could do was make it a red one, you know for school colors. The only red drink I could think of is the bloody mary. Why not sample another one! It was just my luck that bloody's happened to be on special. Alright! The barmaid had no idea what their bloody's were made with which is kind of concerning but you what, I'm in for whatever. 

Appearance: 3/10 Kind of a weak looking red, especially when I was going for some husker spirit. Not sure what was going on at the top of the glass either, disappointing fade.

Garnishes: 3/10 I'm giving this beastmode stalk of celery 3 points and the douchey lime is just a waste of space. Plus, have you have drowned your lime in the drink? Think about what the peel of the lime has probably touch. Enjoy your ebola. 

Spice/Bang: 3/10 I have to be honest. I had two bloody mary's because I got a special deal. The first one was really pretty poor and the second one I asked them to make it spicy. That led to maybe a couple shakes of tabasco and the barmaid even asked if I wanted the bottle of tabasco. Nothing makes this drink special! I want a bar to own their bloody and be proud of it! Also, if a bar uses Finest Call brand mixers.... change your ways or superman dive out the front window. 

Desire: 2/10 The only thing I desired during this experience was for Petteway to quit chucking up three pointers. I had to really talk myself in to ordering another one, I had a coupon for a $2 cocktail so I pulled the trigger. 

Price: 6/10 $3.50 Saturday special? Thats a great deal. If we could get a decent mix in the drink it would be worth it. Potential here folks, good potential. 

Overall: 17/50 Low numbers but the price is right and the food was really pretty good. One sit down conversation with the barstaff on choice of garnishes and mixers and we could flip this thing! I'm not even picky enough to make people do everything homemade, just pick a mix with flavor!!!! Cheers. 

Clancy's Pub, 72nd and Pacific, Omaha

I received a text that said something about hoping I find a bloody mary that night.... and then another text from a different person with similar wishes, and then another. Yeah it was my birthday but I would hate to disappoint so many people (3) and not have a bloody mary. I had the opportunity to meet a few fine people and so Omaha became the spot and there is never anything wrong with some Clancy's bar cuisine. I really was hoping their bloody's were good too. Fingers crossed...

Appearance: 4/10 It's red, a few floaties annnd thats about it. No trendy glass, nothing on the rim. No music being played when it was delivered. Maybe I'm expecting too much in appearances. Did you know I'm single as well? Sensing a theme here...

Garnishes: 3/10 Oh neat, a green olive! Upon finishing the drink I discovered another green olive helplessly trapped under the ice cubes as well as a lifeless looking lemon... lemon? yeah a lemon. The one thing I did kind of like was the dusting of pepper on top. You can kind of see it in the picture as it slightly covers the olive. Maybe a small volcano erupted or the brick oven was spewing ash in the kitchen? Or perhaps the barmaid didn't mix anything in...? 

Spice/Bang: 4/10 I had a nice discussion with my tablemates about including chugability as a category but I can't change things now. However, sometimes I want that chugability in a bloody if I'm really looking to slap on a seatbelt for the night. This had nice chugability. There was little to no spice, a decent tomato taste and thats about it. There wasn't any vodka taste which is nice I guess. 

Desire: 4/10 Am I craving one right now? You bet. Would I go to Clancy's to quench this thirst? Nope, probably would try out a new habenero bloody mix I picked up at the local HyVee... Have you been to a HyVee? My goodness they are great! Anyway I would get a bloody mary if I was already in Clancys.

Price: 3/10 $5.50 Now some of you might be saying "What does he expect?" Honestly for this drink I think $4.05 would have been the ideal price. Decent size but isn't 20 ounces. Decent flavor. Nothing special as a garnish that would cost more and most likely skol or something as vodka.

Overall: 18/50 Pretty disappointing really. However Clancy's is an Irish pub so I can't fault them too much. Maybe they make a mini reuben and put it as a garnish... or.. or... they have these sauerkraut eggroll things that would be awesome as a garnish. I hope you are listening Clancy's... The possibilities are endless! Wait! What about some corned beef on a stick! yes please.

Big Red Keno, Fremont

Ahh... a Saturday with not much going on, Nebrasketball in the afternoon, sounds like a great day to find a bloody mary. I had sampled a bloody at Keno before and I thought it was pretty good but of course I had to do it for real. I ordered a spicy one and Nate ordered the regular one. Game on.

Appearance: 3/10 Trendy with the frosty mug but the red was a poor color and there was zero floaties to be found. A let down already.

Garnishes: 2/10 The salted rim was a nice touch. There was supposed to be a pickle in it but it was a limp 2 inch green thing so I'm not even sure you can call it a pickle. Bad.

Spice/Bang: 3/10 I like tabasco sauce and I think it serves as a nice addition but if I want to drink straight tabasco sauce I'll go ahead and order that. The only flavor I got out of the entire thing was tabasco. Nose watering tongue singing. Great for a few drinks but then kind of annoying. I wish I could have tasted some tomato or worchestire or even lime. The regular one was straight vodka and tomato juice, more along the lines of a vodka taste. Not good according to Nate.

Desire: 2/10 Keno has some great food but don't plan on going for a bloody mary unless they have a new recipe in place. 

Price: 4/10 $3.75 Not cheap but not expensive. If the bloody had good flavor then it would be a good deal, however I would not pay more than the 75 cents we won in keno for the bloody we were served. 

Overall: 14/50 Another disappointment in Fremont. No wonder there wasn't a whole lot of people there on a Saturday noon slamming BM's. If you whip out a good one, the people will come. 

Applebees, Fremont

Half apps seem to get me more often than not... cheapish food at a late night hour is unfair to those who are treading the waters of near legal obesity. I made this trip for business purposes only. It certainly wasn't because I was mentally and physically destroyed in a game of ping pong and needed a cold one... I asked the barmaid if they bloodys were mixes or homemade and she replied "mixes, you want something else..?" Not a good start for the 'bees. I didn't see the brand of mix but it came out looking something like this....

Appearance: 4/10 It seemed to have an awkward red color, not juicy tomato color or tainted with seasonings color but a fake red color. There weren't really any floaties and it just was blah.

Garnishes: 3/10 Olives and lime. I honestly don't remember if there were two olives or not but at least they were included. The lime is almost a buzz kill now, a real space-taker-upper. Applebee's once put cinnamon and sugar on a beer glass rim for me and they don't add salt or anything to the ever classy bloody mary? Lame

Spice/Bang: 3/10 There was a certain spiciness to the bloody that I thought was a nice touch, but the roommate thought it had a bit of a burn to it. That was about all I tasted. Not much for tomato or vodka or anything else. Seemed to have thinness to it, not much of anything. 

Desire: 2/10 No more bloody mary's at Applebee's. Eating good in the neighborhood is kinda catchy but notice they don't ever talk about their drinks... It's for good reason! 

Price: 2/10 $6.75 for this incredibly dull glass of red liquid is way too much. Even for the "neighborhood bar" or the upscale bars in Fremont this isn't a good deal at all. If I was getting a slider on a stick in the drink then we are talking! Have you had Applebee's sliders by the way? Tasty little morsels. 

Overall: 14/50 Yikes. It has been noted that Applebee's is not known for their bloody mary's and that trend will probably continue. Good half apps, bad bloodys, case closed. Cheers! 

Tin Lizzy, Fremont

Once upon a time on a Thursday night, it was deemed very necessary to head to a watering hole to catch some live music. You see I was sent on a quest to check out the talent as a few of us are looking for a lead singer. It just so happened I had a couple of buddies going as well and the bar happened to have all of the supplies they deemed necessary to make the bloody mary. A homemade bloody mary was ordered and the barmaid insured me that every blood mary was made special because they were made by her.. Of course! Before I go on I must say that the live music, The GoodTime Boys, were great!

Appearance: 6/10 Besides the spillage the barmaid did apologize for the bloody looked pretty tasty. A solid, robust, red color, a few floaties (mainly pepper but oh well), but no salted rim. It looked pretty inviting!

Garnishes: 6/10 I have to get used to this Nebraska thing where there is rarely pepperoncinis. I miss Colorado for that reason.. However, 5 green olives do wonders for me and a small dill pickle. Cute but flavorful! Still... another bar with no meat in my drink. 

Spice/Bang: 4/10 The flavor was not bad. In fact it was almost quenching, perhaps some gatorade or electrolytes were added? It was like I opened a can of V8 and simply drank that. I do like V8 and can chug that stuff, I could've chugged this and sometimes thats a decent quality to have. No spice to be found however therefore not much bang. Nothing bad about this drink just nothing good! Average

Desire: 4/10 I don't plan on making my way to Tin Lizzy's specifically for the bloody and I don't plan on having one if I'm there unless it's in the morning. Just not a lot to write home about or if someone were writing a blog, there isn't a whole lot of flavor profiles to blog about. 

Price: 5/10  Folks.... I forgot to ask the barmaid and the receipt didn't have the drink(s)(sss?) I ordered split up. But in the scheme of things it seemed to be pretty standardly priced. The total tab wasn't too bad so life is good!  

Overall: 25/50 Average drink but great chugability if you are in to that. Cheers! 

The Library Sports Bar and Brewery, Winter Park, CO

Another day skiing in Winter Park and if you are curious, I absolutely had another bloody mary on top of the mountain. Absolutely delicious. The end. But like any good explorer I had to expand my horizons and try somewhere else. I wanted to be a good boy and make mother proud so of course I went to the Library. It just so happens this library has food and beverages... I like these libraries! The bar was packed due to the Patriots/Ravens game but while we waited I snuck to the bar to order a bloody. I think I counted 4 different unlabeled squeeze bottles that were squirted into the drink. I know one of them was pickle juices because there were pickles floating in it. Finally a splash of tomato juice was added, I'm not exaggerating... there wasn't much room for the tomato. Interesting.

Appearance: 5/10 The weak red would be real questionable if I didn't see that most of the drink was clear liquids with a dabble of tomato. Some nice floaties in the bottom but nothing that screams drink me! Average appeal.

Garnishes: 5/10 I like that Colorado consistently includes pepperoncinis as a garnish. The two green olives are a nice touch, twice as nice in fact. Nothing else though and that's a real bummer. What happened to pickles? Celery? Salted Rim? Bacon? Anything? Make the dang bloody unique!

Spice/Bang: 5/10 The overall flavor was pretty average but it really had a nice spice to it. I did get the spicy version so one would hope it was spicy....  There wasn't a consistent flavor though, lots of different profiles in each drink and i'm not sure thats good. I missed the rich tomato flavor.

Desire: 4/10 If this is what going to the library is coming to then I suppose I can handle them. If I happen to be in Winter Park and at the library then I probably will order one but I'm not going out of my way, average is average.

Price: 6/10 Honestly, $6 for a bloody mary in a resort town is really a pretty good deal. It caught me off guard in a good way.

Overall: 25/50 I think I've used the word average too many times in this review but I believe 25/50 is the epitome of average. I didn't even plan for the numbers to add up to that. Don't go out of your way for this when in Winter Park but it'll do the trick in an emergency. I was on vacation anyway so I'm not complaining.

Hernando's Pizza and Pasta Pub, Winter Park

If you haven't heard my rave reviews about the bloody at the top of Winter Park resort you should check it out. I can still taste the glorious tomatoey goodness with a delightful spice complex. After a nice hot tub sit and a couple of palette cleansing Busch Lights we headed out to get some chow. All of the reviews online sent us toward Hernando's Pizza, not for the bloody marys but for the Pizza silly. I asked the server if they had bloody mary's and he replied with a convincing, oh yeah. He also said it was a mix but didn't know what kind. Neato... and then he delivered the beverage and stated that everything was being homemade tonight... yay!

Appearance: 5/10 Really average presentation. I had really high expectations and yes it let me down but to be fair it wasn't horrible. No salt on the rim, decent color, no dead cat's floating in it. It looked edible. A few floaties but not many. 

Garnishes: 4/10 Pepperoncini, green olive and a wimpy attempt at a celery stalk. I will say these pepperoncini things are growing on me, a little bit of spice, some saltiness and very juicy. Nothing special with this bm though. 

Spice/Bang: 2/10 What flavor? What spice? What a disappointment. I couldn't put my finger on the flavor but it wasn't good. Crappy vodka taste was the main component and some lime. There was no spice, no tomato flavor... really nothing at all. I'm not sure I finished the drink before I finished the pizza. That's saying something...

Desire: 1/10 Absolutely I will get the pizza again but never the bloody. I usually don't have to work through a drink but this one I did. I added red pepper to mine, more pepper, salt and whatever else on the table that may give the drink some blasted flavor.

Price: 3/10 $5 Not a terrible price but for a terrible drink it's much too high. I'm tired of thinking about this one. A huge disappointment. 

Overall: 15/50 If you must, go for the pizza, stay for the pizza and don't order a bloody mary. Worthless. 

Lunch Rock, Top of Winter Park Resort, Colorado

Holy gorgeous day. Blue skies everywhere, gorgeous mountain views and some nice corduroy. We attacked the mountain early so it was important to reward ourselves for trying hard, only breathing kind of heavy and well, we were on vacation. A drink or two on the mountain always seems to taste extra good and yes we still skied under control. Going into the bar I was expecting a big price. I mean our lunch was ridiculous so why wouldn't the bloody? Let's just say Winter Park didn't disappoint....

Appearance: 7/10 Anything at the top of the mountain looks good and this picture doesn't do it justice. When we were presented the bloody it was separated, the tomato juice sat on top of the vodka and lime juice combination. A little stirring brought everything together and there were little floaties in the glass. Good stuff.

Garnishes: 6/10 The classic lime, a giant celery, one green olive and a pepperoncini. There wasn't any salt around the rim, no bacon, no meat of any kind and the presentation itself was less than marvelous. Still, it got the job done.

Spice/Bang: 9/10 A delightful flavor. Very similar to Zing Zang. Complex, tomatoey, spicy. A certain richness that teased the senses and tickled the tongue. Fantastic. 

Desire: 9/10 Perfect for the situation. Absolutely I will be sampling another one and I will make it a point to get one each time skiing at Winter Park. You should too. The flavor was really good. Seriously. 

Price: 8/10 $11 for this bad boy but remember it's at the top of a mountain and it's a 20 oz drink and this one was a double shot. Did I order a double shot but apparently I needed one because that's what the guy gave us. I'm not complaining here. Given the circumstances, what a deal!

Overall: 39/50 A great bloody mary at a great place with an even better view! The complete taste in this drink was fantastic and something I'll try for quite a while to find again. If you ever find yourself at Winter Park, head up to lunch rock at the top of the mountain and order yourself a bloody. You won't regret it.

J's Steakhouse, Fremont

A second cold day in two years. Never heard of them previously. I like it though. I like it a lot. That being said I had to take the opportunity to knock at least one review out. J's Steakhouse and Winebar is a great little place, fancy food and anything you want to drink all at pretty reasonable prices really and a fancy upscale feel. I was excited about this bloody. Good chance for a great drink! I was about the only one in there although I didn't get a snoop in on all of the ingredients. I was asked if I wanted it spicy (yes) and I did find out one thing... zing zang mix! 

Appearance: 7/10 Although it's not the biggest one ever when it appeared at my table I was immediately excited! A pretty salted rim and a gorgeous red body with floaties! 

Garnishes: 4/10 The salt on the rim was a nice addition and the standard green olives and lime was present but that was about it. The lime appeared to be pretty old but I'm getting used to that being common. 

Spice/Bang: 7.5/10 A nice solid flavor and it let me know each time I took a sip. Good flavor (zing zang does that every time!) and great tabasco additions with a few other additions. A nice robust flavor complex. The salt on the rim contributed nicely! 

Desire: 7/10 I would definitely order another one and visit again to order a tasty bloody. Is it going to be the top on my list, probably not but it's a nice solid, go to bloody. 

Price: 8/10 With the upscale bar I was thinking the drink would be 6ish... nope $3.21. I don't think it was a special or happy hour, just a good deal! Not as big as the others I have tried but really a nice price!

Overall: 33.5/50. The best review to date. The complexity of flavors and the robust explosion in my mouth led me to almost order another... (1:30 in the afternoon). Great presentation and good to the last drop! I recommend it to anyone and the place is trendy especially if you get J's chips. Check it out! 

LA Fireproof Door, Fremont

Decided I could sneak one more review for the night before my tasting pallet would start to desensitize. I was excited about the Door. I've been here a few times but never had a bloody. They are advertised as $3 on Sundays and if these bloody's were good, well, we may have a problem... I had a prime seat, right at the bar at the bloody mary making station. Start with a smallish glass, rim of salt(!), skol vodka, good amount of worchestire, wee amount of pepper, salt and some other seasoning, tabasco, and tomato juice. Top with green olive and lime and......

Appearance: 5/10 The salt on the rim does so much for the appearance. Looks like a complete drink. I think I mixed it a little more after I took this picture so the worchestire wasn't just at the bottom. The color wasn't great and there wasn't any floaty spices.

Garnishes: 2/10 Two or less and I could care-a-less.  Neat single olive and at least I could tell this was a lime. 

Spice/Bang: 3/10 Another disappointment. I understand people either want to save money or be trendy and make them homemade but if you can't hang and offer some bang then gosh dang! Another tomato juice with a hint of vodka. Mixes are made for a reason. When in doubt use Zing Zang...! Something was missing. I suppose I could've loaded up with more tabasco but I didn't. I only had the salt around the rim for so long and then I lost that goodness. 

Desire: 2/10 Thank goodness I came away feeling let down. Sundays will not be spent at the door! Do I plan on ordering another one sometime? Nahhh Not terrible but really average. 

Price: 5/10 $4.50 for this bad boy. Not the worst price but the size was pretty small.. and the flavor was pretty small... Worth the $3 special price on Sundays...? Go for it. If you need that bloody on a sunday then you get that bloody! 

Overall: 17/50 Very very standard bloody. A bit more love into the drink may result in something special but for now we will call it.... nice try. 

Sempeck's Bowling Alley Bar, Twisterz, Elkhorn

I had received word that school was indeed canceled this next day, the ever rare "cold" day. I decided to take the opportunity to try to sneak in a couple more bloody reviews and I did just that. This is an important one because a lot of people go bowling and sometimes in the morning or afternoon, prime bloody drinking time! I asked the bartender what was in their bloody and he didn't have a clue but went to find out. The answer... Mr. and Mrs. T bloody mix. Dangg. You will learn something about me here... I'm not a huge fan. It's very watery it seems and just not much flavor. I immediately was concerned for this bloody.

Appearance: 3/10 Good looking glass of tomato juice... Two straws are a nice touch. There wasn't any floating spices or anything in the glass and that is kinda concerning. Where the heck is the flavor going to come from?

Garnishes: 3/10 I had to ask my table mates Wyatt and Ben if it was a lemon or a lime on the rim. Seriously. It was the oddest color of greeyellow I've seen. Two green olives on a mini sword were trendy and then that was it.

Spice/Bang: 3/10 If I wanted a glass of tomato juice I would've ordered that. Alas, I maybe tasted a bit of well vodka in there so it wasn't just tomato juice. There really wasn't any spice or bang to the drink.

Desire: 2/10 If I'm bowling because of the bloodys... could happen..... I'm not going here. Disappointed in the drink. Really, there was nothing in the drink that made me tingle or feel a thing.

Price: 2/10 $6 I have to be honest. I don't think $6 would be a terrible price for this size of bloody, but the blasted bloody better do something for me!! This was a red vodka with wimpy lime.

Overall: 13/50 Coming from Shevy's I had my hopes up. Was looking for a bit more pizazz and bang but was very disappointed. May as well order their beer towers instead if you are bowling.

Shevy's Bloody, Elkhorn

I have to admit, I was very excited to get my first review in but at the same time extremely nervous. What if I'm too critical or I can't find anything to say? How many questions do I ask the bartender without giving my purpose away? Needless to say all things went well and the bloody spoke to me.

Homemade Bloody Mary: The bloody was listed on the menu as a a homemade bloody with BACON  yet I still asked the waitress politely what was all in it. She replied with a simple "Oh I make it homemade and everything is in it." Neato. I didn't creep to see what was actually in it but here is how it showed up...

Appearance: 4/10 Anything with bacon in gets automatic points but not when it appears like this. 2 green olives and a tiny pickle were also floating in the bloody, not on a stick or anything. The color was ok but the bits of black pepper were few and far between. Uneven mixing it appears. 

Garnishes: 5/10 The bacon was 4 limp inches, barely getting the tip wet in the bloody. Hard to get much flavor there. The two green olives were a nice touch but floating aimlessly and the pickle... oh the pickle was the weakest attempt at a pickle on this side of the appalachian trail. 

Spice/Bang: 4/10 I was not asked if I like it spicy or not and therefore figured there wasn't going to be much spice. Right again. Very minimal flavor. Heavy on the standard tomato juice, light on the good stuff like worchestire, horseradish, tabasco, seasoning salt or whatever else they could've put in there.  It drank like water, kinda concerning. 

Desire: 4/10 Was it to the point where I wouldn't order another one here..? No, thats sillyness, but I'm not about to go out of my way to get one especially when I can do much better at home. 

Price: 5/10 This baby was $5. Not crazy, not really that cheap but for the drink itself, it might have been over priced. I could've gotten 2 busch lights for that amount! 

Overall: 22/50 I'm assuming it won't be the worst I'll ever have and I admit I still drank it pretty quick but just didn't do much for me. If it had a full grown chunk of bacon in there and a bit more spice, things would've gotten turned up pretty quick! 

The Background.....

Hey folks... we all are secret bloody mary lovers at some point in our lives and at the same time we all have said I'm never having a bloody mary again. But then it happens. and again and again and again. Sometimes we all need an excuse to indulge in a bloody and this blog is just that. A chance for a couple of brothers to share some bloody mary delight and to browse the bloody mary selections of Omaha, Fremont, Lincoln and wherever else we find ourselves sipping (or chugging) bloody marys.

The important part is our rating scale. There are 5 categories, each worth 10 points for a total of a perfect 50. Please note that every person has different ideas and you may think we are the dumbest of douches but that's cool, when in doubt drink it out.  We will always get the "cheapest" vodka or whatever comes standard and more likely than not, the spicy kind if offered. We will not inform the bartender to make it extra special as we want what the classic customer will get. Depending on the day we may try every thing offered....

1. Appearance: comments on the bloody is at arrives in our hands. Does it look like something we want to drink, stare at or pass off to the next person. This is more important then some may think.

2. Garnishes: we may not be super snoopy at what goes into it but this will also include garnishes. The more the merrier in my opnion.

3. Spice/Bang: Appropriate amount of flavor and spice will be discussed here. More spice doesn't necessarily mean a higher score.

4. Desire: How much do we want another one, or three? The important part of a bloody mary's success is if people want to come back to get the same thing again.

5. Price: Cheap isn't always great but expensive always blows, especially if planning on binge drinking these bad boys!

There will always be additional comments considering things we find important. Does the Mary get rid of said hangover or problem or quench the thirst? We will always have something to say.

No idea how often we will post but it should be worth checking back every other week or so... Who knows! If you come across something we should try, please let us know. Until next time.... Cheers!