Holiday hangover? Cure it quick with Pete Gugni’s morning reviver.

We started serving brunch about four months ago, which gave me a great excuse to experiment with breakfast cocktails. When I paired tomato juice with kimchi, a spicy Korean side dish that mostly consists of fermented Napa cabbage, the flavors just harmonized. This is kind of like a cross between a Bloody Mary, which is made with vodka, and a Bloody Maria, which uses tequila. But instead of tequila, I use a barrel-aged version of its smokier cousin, mezcal. The finishing touch is a little bit of Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, a beer from Great Lakes Brewing Company that has a strong coffee flavor. So even if you start your day with a cocktail, you can say you’ve had your morning coffee too. Pete Gugni is the chief mixologist at The Bedford <http://www.bedfordchicago.com>  in Chicago. 

Ingredients:

1½ ounces vodka

½ ounce Don Amado reposado mezcal

5 ounces kimchi tomato juice*

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 dash pepper

1 dash celery salt

1 ounce Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

celery stalk

lemon wedge

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass. Shake, then strain into a 14-ounce glass over ice.

2. Stir in the beer, then garnish with a celery stalk and lemon wedge.

*In a blender, purée 3 parts tomato juice with 1 part kimchi.