Where to get a good bloody mary in Columbia

Let’s play a little word association. When you hear “brunch” what comes to mind?

If you said lazy Sunday mornings, eating breakfast at noon and nursing hangovers, all three would be correct. So what’s a drink that goes great with two and was built to cure three? The bloody mary, of course.

Considered the world’s most complex cocktail, the bloody mary combines tomato juice, vodka and a who’s-who of secret spices and flavors like Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, horseradish, celery, olives, salt, black pepper and more.

So it should come as no surprise that with Columbia’s growing reputation for all things dining and drinking, there are quite a few places that put their own twist on the standard to rave reviews. Check out our list here.

Best location: Thirsty Fellow

“The recipe has been a work in progress since 1985,” said Willie Durkin, who opened the bar in December 2009. “The one flavor that usually hooks them is a little bit of A1 sauce. A lot of people use Worcestershire sauce.”

“It’s been a huge hit,” said Cam Shealy, who’s part owner of the bar. “People come for Sunday brunch, but especially when it’s baseball or basketball season because you can easily walk to Colonial Life Arena or USC’s baseball stadium. It’s a great place to meet before concerts or games.”

621 Gadsden St. (803) 799-1311, www.thirstyfellow.com

Best organic alternative: Good Life Cafe

“Sharon, the owner, makes her own hot sauce and bloody mary mix,” said Kelly Murphy, front of the house manager. “She’s been cooking mostly raw and vegan for 36 years. She’s incredible in the kitchen. We have a brunch on Saturday and Sunday between 8 (a.m.) and 2 (p.m.), and we serve a lot of blood marys. It’s our biggest time to sell those.

“We have a natural, organic vodka, and sometimes we use Tito’s,” Murphy added. “We’re careful as to what we bring in for the bar because of the type of restaurant we are.”

1614 Main St. (803) 726-2310, www.goodlifecafe.net

Best sourced tomato: Cafe Strudel

“When we moved from the previous location we did not do liquor but we wanted to do Bloody Marys,” said Kyle Turbyfill, general manager and son of owner Trip Turbyfill. “At first they were making the bloody mary mix with plain tomato juice. I told them we have to start with a rich, premium vine-ripened, fresh-packed tomato product.

“What we use is Stanislaus tomatoes from the Cortopassi family in California,” Turbyfill added. “They don’t pick their tomatoes until they’re fully vine-ripened. They’re old-school.”

300 State St., West Columbia. (803) 794-6634, www.cafestrudel.com

Best pièce de résistance: Pearlz

“Everybody gets really surprised that we put Guinness in ours, which makes it a little smoother,” said Tara Miller, bartender. “And we put a fresh oyster on top.

“We use Absolute pepper vodka in our bloody mary as well as our oyster shooters, which are like a mini-bloody mary,” Miller continued. “We use our cocktail sauce, pepper vodka, and it has an oyster in it.”

936 Gervais St. (803) 661-7741, www.pearlzoysterbar.com

Best custom drink: The Cock N’ Bull Pub

“It’s $4 for a bloody mary. We give you the vodka in the glass and you go over to the bar and there’s at least 10 different fresh ingredients, so you can make any kind of bloody mary you want,” said Scott Scheno, owner.

Ingredients include Zing Zang bloody mary mix, pepperoni, olives, jalepenos, celery, horseradish, lemons, limes, pickles, Old Bay, Worcestershire and pepperoncinis.

“We have everyone from college students to 70-year-olds who come in and crush that bloody mary bar,” Scheno said. “We have people sometimes who wait an hour to get in here.”

326 S Edisto Ave. (803) 251-4474, www.thecocknbullpub.net