The Bull Shot: A Beef Broth Cocktail Worth Reviving

Most people have never had a Bull Shot, and that is a shame worth fixing. It is a Bloody Mary that swaps tomato juice for beef broth. Savory, warming, a little strange in the best way. It can be served cold over ice or hot in a mug, which makes it one of the few cocktails built for a cold morning in a parking lot or on a mountain.

It had its moment in the mid-century, faded out, and is due for a comeback. Here is the drink, the history, and why your Bloody Mary seasoning is the shortcut to a good one.

What Is a Bull Shot?

The Bull Shot was invented in 1952 at the Caucus Club in Detroit. The owner, Lester Gruber, worked it out with a friend named John Hurley, an ad man at BBDO who was handling the Campbell's Soup account and trying to sell more canned beef bouillon. The drink was the answer: bouillon, vodka, and seasoning, over ice. Campbell's later ran a "Soup on the Rocks" campaign off the idea, though it never used the Bull Shot name or recipe directly.

The bones are simple. Beef broth stands in for tomato juice, vodka does the lifting, and a savory seasoning ties it together. That last part is where the seasoning earns its keep.

Bull Shot Recipe (Hot or Cold)

Makes 1 drink. The seasoning brings the salt, pepper, acid, and heat, so you are really just adding broth and vodka.

• 4 oz beef consomme or a good beef bone broth
• 1.5 oz vodka
• 1 oz Stu's Bloody Mary seasoning
• Squeeze of lemon
• Fresh cracked pepper

Cold: Shake everything with ice, then strain over fresh ice. Finish with a lemon twist.

Hot: Warm the broth in a small pot, stir in the vodka, seasoning, and lemon off the heat, and pour into a mug.

Allergens: Contains fish (anchovy) and mustard. Check the broth and seasoning labels if you are serving guests with allergies.

The Hot Version Is the Tailgate Play

This is the reason to know this drink. Make the hot version, pour it into a thermos, and bring it to a cold tailgate or a ski day. It is warm, savory, and a little boozy, which is exactly what you want when you are standing in a parking lot in November. It beats coffee and it beats cold beer when the temperature drops.

It fits the rest of a cold-weather tailgate spread better than almost anything else in a cup.

Make It Zero Proof

Leave the vodka out and you still have a real drink. Warm beef broth with the seasoning and a squeeze of lemon is a savory, sippable mug that works as a morning ritual on its own. If you already keep broth around for a morning bone broth, this is the same habit in cocktail form.

From the Same Bottle

The Bull Shot is a cousin of the Bloody Bull, which splits the difference with both tomato and beef broth. Both come from the same place: the idea that a Bloody Mary does not have to be built on tomato, and the seasoning is what makes any version taste right.

Keep a bottle of Stu's Classic Bloody Mary seasoning on the shelf and you can make all of them. Ritual over routine.