Not long ago I watched a Liquor.com video called “How to Make a Bloody Mary.” In the video, renowned bartender H. Joseph Ehrmann, owner of Elixir in San Francisco, demonstrated how he makes a Bloody Mary.  And, I have to admit that, after watching H make the cocktail made me want to try one.  Until now I've never been that interested in Bloody Marys.  There are a variety of reasons for this but it didn't help that my first Bloody Mary was pretty mediocre. In 2009, a friend of mine and I took a ferry across the bay to Tiburon and during the ride we ordered a couple. It tasted like watered down tomato juice with a hint of alcohol and a little black pepper.  After that the idea of the Bloody Mary just wasn't that appealing.

However, I've decided to give the drink another chance. San Francisco is a serious drinking town and it's probably a pretty good place sample some of the best expressions of what the Bloody Mary can be.  There are several bars around town that offer build-your-own Bloody Mary stations on Sundays for the devote who insists that their drink be made just so.  For now I'll skip these, and search out the bars around town that are known for being among the best purveyors of Bloody Marys.