Scary Marys

So you've woken up with a bucket by your bed and each and every blood vessel in your eyes is screaming for your attention. Don't stress, we've all been there. What you need is some comfort food, a lot of vitamins and a little hair of the dog. Lucky for you, we know where you can get all three in one easy, sippable swoop. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Bloody Marys. 

Bloody Mary's

Bloody Mary's have said themselves that "the name says it all". We would like to humbly disagree. They make the kind of cocktails that could make even their American influences blush. Items like the Bloody Hell: chili-infused vodka served with celery, shrimp, slider and buffalo wing, and the Porky Pig: a bourbon infused bacon Bloody Mary with onion rings and bacon. And we say 'served with', but that doesn't quite paint the right picture. All the ingredients (even the full slider) are balanced delicately atop your mason jar, something like Carmen Miranda if she'd gone in for mixed meats instead of fruit.

Where: 332 Victoria St, Darlinghurst 

The Norfolk

The Norfolk is where you want to be if you need a chill, old school pub and a solid cocktail list. They have a massive beer garden that's open to all, including the pooch, and they are clearly Whitlam fans since they even turfed the pokies a while back. The clincher though is their Bloody Marys, all of which are served in darling, recycled soup cans. The Bloody Norf is your classic but delicious Mary mix, while the Bloody Chimichurri is exactly what it says it is, mixing in the Argentinean sauce for a unique take on the tried-and-true cocktail. Their Bloody BBQ adds bourbon, Antica and smokey BBQ sauce for those really looking to chase off the Sunday sads.

where: 305 cleveland st, surry hills

Mary's

Mary's garnishes may seem more reserved than some of the others on this list, but just because you don't need a zoning permit to put them together doesn't make them drab. Melted over the top of your Bloody Mary is a slice of cheese, on top of which goes a piece of house-cured bacon and a cocktail onion, creating a delicious hangover-killing seal. It's like a cheese and bacon toastie but they turfed the bread, which is boring, and replaced it with Mary's house mix - hot sauce, their personal blend of spices, tomato juice and passata, all the good stuff.

where: 6 mary st, newtown

The Powder Keg

The Powder Keg have skewed heavily to the meat and spice crowd with their Bloody Mary. They start with a Horseradish root vodka then they blend it with their steak-smoked mary mix and BBQ bitters. Like The Norfolk, they serve the lot in a recycled can, but TPK's is topped with house-made beef jerky, maple-infused bacon, cherry tomatoes & beef jerky straw. Hey, If sucking boozy juice through dehydrated meat is wrong, we don't want to be right.

where: 7 kellett st, potts point