High Mesa Chile Co. – Roasted Chile Bloody Maria Cocktail Mix
Bitter: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Sour: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Tomato, horseradish, vegetal, smoke, citrus
Texture: Medium-thin and pulpy
Recommended: Yes
Ingredients: Water, tomato paste, cider vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, cucumber juice, roasted poblano chiles, roasted jalapenos, horseradish, ginger, garlic, salt, spices.
Having previously tried High Mesa Chile Co’s Roasted Fresno Hot Sauce and very much enjoying it I was looking forward to trying the other half of their business, their cocktail mixers. I enjoy a cocktail or two myself on occasion and Bloody Mary cocktails are one of my all-time favorites so I thought it would be time to give this a whirl. High Mesa Chile Co calls this a Bloody Maria mix as opposed to a Bloody Mary, but looking it up the only difference that I can see is that a Bloody Maria is typically made with tequila while the Bloody Mary is made with vodka.
Just as with their hot sauce their ingredients list is simple and pure. The heat here comes from roasted jalapeno and poblano peppers, so nothing crazy in terms of heat, but roasting should bring out some nice charred flavors. Vinegar, lime, and lemon bring the acid, and the sine-qua-non horseradish brings that nasal clearing bite. Something that I often see in Bloody Mary drinks are Worcestershire sauce and celery seed, which I don’t see here, though the cucumber juice could sub in for the celery with a similar flavor and freshness. This is fairly thick for a cocktail mix with a lot of pulp. There’s a nice aroma of tomato, peppers, and horseradish.
Tasting this straight it’s quite thick and the tomato and horseradish flavors are the most prominent. It’s fresh tasting but pulpy enough that I wouldn’t call it refreshing to drink on its own, but of course that’s not what it’s intended for. The roasted peppers do add vegetal and smoky flavors to the mix, and there’s a great balance of acidity where this is quite tangy. I absolutely did get the impression that I was drinking a virgin Bloody Mary. I corrected the virgin part quickly and tried this with both tequila and vodka (Patron Silver and Blue Ice Potato Vodka respectively) and adding some alcohol obviously thins this out a bit to be more drinkable as well as adding an additional flavor element. I’m not the world’s biggest fan of tequila so I actually enjoyed this more with the vodka. The combo that really impressed me the most, however, was using this as a michelada mix.
On a hot summer’s day there’s nothing more refreshing than a nice cold michelada, and they have the bonus benefit of being relatively low in alcohol so you can enjoy several of them without ending up flat on your backside. I tried this both with Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and with Landshark Lager. IPAs and micheladas can be an interesting mix – the intense bitter elements of the IPA and stronger alcohol content make it less of a refreshing drink but more of a complex one, and High Mesa Chile Co’s Roasted Pepper Bloody Maria Cocktail Mix has plenty of flavor and oomph to stand up to it. With the Landshark Lager this becomes a match made in heaven – super refreshing with a great savory twist from the mix and the citrus really helping elevate what’s otherwise a fairly boring, if refreshing, beer.
High Mesa Chile Co’s Roasted Pepper Bloody Maria Mix gets my recommendation. If you’re a fan of the Bloody Mary, Bloody Maria, or Michelada this would be a great pantry staple to have around. This mix is also all natural with no artificial thickeners, colors, flavors, or preservatives.
