Nashville’s Walker Feed Co. Spices Up Holiday Brunch with the Perfect Bloody Mary

When Kristin Walker began experimenting with some sweet and savory ingredients to doctor up her Bloody Marys during parties at her home, she quickly hit on a favorite concoction that was in high demand. Finding herself perpetually behind the Bloody Mary bar she’d set out at gatherings to mix up the cocktails, she and husband Cody realized they were onto something, and soon they were perfecting and bottling their own recipe. Fast forward to a few years later, and Walker Feed Co. has since grown into a successful independent Nashville company, with six different mixers available in stores around Music City and online.

For Walker, the transition was a natural one, having spent 15 years in the hospitality industry in catering, bartending, and various management capacities that would come in handy in forming their company. Possessing a love for cooking and playing around with recipes in her own kitchen, Walker meticulously researched ingredient possibilities before hitting upon the idea of adding uniquely Southern and local flavors to her special bloody mary mix.

“When creating recipes I always want to have a balance,” explains Walker. “You want to mix the sweet and salty and sour just in general for cocktails, they all have those basic ingredients. So when I was developing the bloody mary, I had all these different things I liked to add, special spices and whatnot. And when I was creating Walkers I thought, ‘How can I make this different using some of those ideas I’d played around with?’ So we decided to use uniquely Southern ingredients.”

The ingredients they landed on definitely added a special flair to the balance they were going for, according to Walker. “A lot of people do mustard seed or mustard powder, but we decided to go with Creole mustard because it takes on that horseradish flavor that a lot of people like in a bloody mary,” adds Walker. “I think it adds a lot of zest to the mix. And then I came across a company out of Louisville that does a bourbon, barrel-aged Worcestershire which is so much more rich and flavorful than a traditional Worcestershire. And then with the black strap molasses I was just reading different mixes and how they were adding sugar or something sweet, and I just tried it to see how molasses would work. It really balanced out the tomato and salt and everything that was going on and created a fully rounded flavor.”

They had such success with their bloody mary mix the Walkers also developed two margarita mixers, strawberry rhubarb and blackberry, as well as red and white sangria as well, all containing fresh fruit juices and purees. They also have a Honeysuckle Sweet and Sour mix that should appeal to those watching their calories with its low sugar content.

“For our Honeysuckle Sweet and Sour we use fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice, but we also use Tennessee honey, so we don’t have to add as much sugar as most sweet and sour mixers on the market have in them. It’s about 50 calories and 12 grams of sugar per serving, which is really low, and you also get that refreshing taste. It’s like a homemade recipe.”

If you’re gearing up for the holiday season and want to serve up some premium Bloody Marys for brunch, Walker has a few suggestions on how to create her ultimate Bloody Mary bar for those weekend parties.

“The fun part of it for me is creating all the garnishes,” admits Walker. “So my number one tip would be if you like horseradish since we don’t do it, fresh horseradish is always best to use because you get that flavor and the heat when you’re adding it fresh to the drink. Also, hit the pickled veggie aisle of the grocery store. They’ve got pickled okra, different flavors of pickles, pickled green beans and asparagus, so a lot of pickled things I like to have on hand for my guests.”

“And next, I always like to rim the glass. At Walker Feed we do a couple of flavored cocktail rimmer salts as well. We do a sea salt, and we do a hot sea salt, which we use Nashville hot chicken seasoning for that one, and you can actually do that with any spice blend you would find on the shelf as well. Pour it in a saucer and rim the glass with a lemon or lime and then dip it in the mix and add everything else and you’re set to go.”

“And the last thing I like to do for a nice Bloody Mary bar is cheeses and meats. I like to go find the artisan cheeses and charcuterie section at natural food markets and they will have a big buffet of olives and meats and cheese. I like to mix a lot of that and get some toothpicks or skewers and display those.”

Nashville restaurants serving up Walkers Bloody Marys have definitely embraced the fun when it comes to garnishing their versions as well. Those with a big appetite can basically “drink” their lunch while cheering on their favorite team, (which for the Walkers is the Tennessee Titans of course!)

“People are doing all kinds of stuff with the Bloody Marys now using our mixers,” says Walker. “One restaurant serves our Bloody Mary and they put hamburger sliders on skewers in the drink. And another one does halves of avocados, I’ve seen a whole chicken, a lot of people do the bacon straws. There are all kinds of things you can do to make it a meal, not just a drink! You just have to get some really big skewers,” she adds, laughing.

Visit Walker Feed Co. online to learn more about their products.