Mississippi meets Michigan — Ubons and Ugly Dog vodka for a great Bloody Mary
Bring it on Mississippi.
Strong statement, but if you’re a Bloody Mary drinker, Ubons is ready to oblige.
During a recent visit to the beautiful state of Mississippi, a discussion about a ‘good’ Bloody Mary inadvertently turned into a ‘Best Ever’ challenge for Bill Canter, director of the Mississippi Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Delivering on his promise, Bill contacted Ubons, maker of two – ‘BBQ’ and ‘Hot & Spicy’ – bottled Bloody Mary mixes, and Ubons’ David Rosen sent a couple bottles of each flavor for us to sample. Ironically, the day of our first taste test was with guests to our Michigan home, who were in town to attend a University of Michigan vs. Pennsylvania State University football game. The irony is that David and his wife are Penn State alumni. Nothing like hosting Penn State on the football field and in our kitchen that morning!
Which is best – ‘BBQ’ or ‘Hot & Spicy?’ That seemed to be a toss-up among our guests, based on personal ‘hot stuff’ tastes and tolerance, but most –expecting a spicy Bloody Mary taste, seemed to prefer the Hot & Spicy. Some thought the BBQ was too barbecue-saucy. I am a more mellow-flavor seeker, so I liked the BBQ better, and I liked a combo of both mixes best of all.
Unlike some mixes, Ubons is thick, so a full glass of ice – and maybe a bit of water if you’re a fast sipper – is required. Maybe Southern Bloody Mary drinkers just double up on the vodka! I don’t know.
Nonetheless, Ubons delivers a tasty Bloody Mary. The texture is rich and smooth, not grainy or lumpy. The taste is robust and flavorful. Made in Yazoo City, Miss., both mixes are non-alcoholic, all natural, gluten free, fat free and have no MSG. They are said to “incorporate traditional Bloody Mary flavors with bits of garlic & onion flake, celery seed, cayenne” and Memphis-style “5th generation, World Championship UBONS Sauce,” which includes the flavors of fresh dill pickles.
So tasty is Ubons that you may want to use it in regular cooking. My shipment included a recipe card for Ubons Bloody Mary vegetable soup; “Bloody Good” pasta salad or beef, pork or chicken; Spicy Ubons Manicotti; and Ubons Bloody Cajun BBQ Shrimp.
Available for retail sale online, Ubons Bloody Mary Mix comes in one-liter bottles, sold and shipped in 2-packs or 6-packs and priced at $20 for two or $55 for six. The Hot & Spicy also comes in a 5.92-ounce ‘Woozy’ size for individual drink convenience and is sold in 12-packs.
Ubons also makes a barbecue sauce, sold online in four- and 12-packs for $24 (four) and $65 (12). The sauce recipe goes back five generations and was first put into commercial production in 1986 by Garry Roark, caterer and Ubons company founder, who also opened a restaurant in Yazoo in 2003. He and daughter, Leslie Roark Scott, run all aspects of the Ubons business, which was named for his father and her grandfather, Ubon Roark.
For more information or product purchase, visit www.ubons.net
