Bloody Marys photographed at a previous Bloody Mary Festival.
AUBRIE LEGAULT/Courtesy of The Bloody Mary Festival
April 1, 2026, marked six years since Andy Williams began selling his Game Day Bloody Mary Mix, and this packaged cocktail base is no joke: It recently won the judges’ award for Best Bottled Mix at the eighth annual Bloody Mary Festival in New York City, part of what is said to be the world’s largest Bloody Mary festival series.
Williams of Lakeville said he has worked in food and beverage for 25 years, ranging from being a busboy at 16 to bartender. “One Sunday while bartending during brunch, I had made about three gallons of my mix,” he said. “And to my surprise, in 45 minutes I had no mix left, and several bar and restaurant patrons approached me, saying, ‘You should bottle this mix and sell it in stores.’ That’s how it all began.”
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Andy Williams began selling his Game Day Bloody Mary Mix six years ago. It recently won the judges’ award for Best Bottled Mix at the eighth annual Bloody Mary Festival in New York City.
Courtesy of Labonne’s Markets
Williams makes his mix at Labonne’s Markets, a sixth-generation family business founded in Watertown in 1962. For nearly 10 years, he has worked at the Salisbury location as a shopper and a delivery driver for customers in need. All of the Labonne’s Markets — Salisbury, Watertown, Woodbury and Prospect — carry the Game Day Bloody Mary Mix year-round; it’s also available at Norbrook Farm Brewery in Colebrook, and Williams wants to expand distribution across New England and down the East Coast. “I am grateful to the Labonne family and owners for believing in me and my product,” Williams said.
This is the second time Williams has entered his product into the Bloody Mary Festival, which he said has been a good networking experience. “I compete in the Bloody Mary festival to grow my customer base, meet new people and spread the word about my mix, not to mention it’s a lot of fun.” He also said he learned a lot the first time around, namely, “Never run out of garnish and use less salt.” This year, “I followed the judge’s advice to the letter,” and it earned him the gold, a fact he’s still wrapping his head around.
Andy Williams began selling his Game Day Bloody Mary Mix six years ago. It recently won the judges’ award for Best Bottled Mix at the eighth annual Bloody Mary Festival in New York City.
Courtesy of Labonne’s Markets
“Winning my category hasn’t sunk in yet, but I am on cloud nine. It took me several years to perfect my mix, and I am grateful that my hard work is paying off.”
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The Bloody Mary Festival was founded by husband and wife Evan and Yunna Weiss in 2014 in Brooklyn. It quickly expanded across the country, and currently takes place in five additional cities: Austin, Denver, Milwaukee, Portland and Twin Cities. Returning to New York City on March 21 for the first time since 2023, the Bloody Mary Festival featured over a dozen Bloody Mary recipes mainly from bars and restaurants throughout New York, judged by a panel of experts as well as over 1,000 attendees.
Categories included Best Bloody Mary – Original Recipe, which was won by Filthy Diamond in Brooklyn, and Best Garnish, awarded to Crif Dogs in Manhattan for its topping of a bacon-wrapped hot dog.
Drinks being poured at a previous Bloody Mary Festival.
Fletcher Wold/Courtesy of The Bloody Mary Festival
The four-person judging panel included Courtney Iseman, a drinks journalist and consultant; Anna Kate DeBerardino, a food entrepreneur; Shauna Farrell, a Bloody Mary expert behind the social media accounts @alldaymary; and Alejandro López, founder of Toma Beverage Company, which won the category Best Bottled Mixer in 2023. While a Pennsylvania-based product called Sunday’s Bloody Mary Mix won the People’s Choice Award for Best Bottled Mix, the judges preferred Williams’ “bold, savory blend with balanced spice and rich tomato flavor,” according to a press release.
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Game Day Bloody Mary Mix comes in two sizes, 16 ounces and 32 ounces, and Williams said customer response has been tremendous, with comments like, “You don’t need vodka to drink this mix, it’s that good,” and, “I don’t drink Bloody Marys but I would drink this.” As for how to use it, Williams said he keeps it simple to let the small-batch product speak for itself. “I serve my mix from the bottle, just add vodka,” he said.
Andy Williams began selling his Game Day Bloody Mary Mix six years ago. It recently won the judges’ award for Best Bottled Mix at the eighth annual Bloody Mary Festival in New York City.
Courtesy of Labonne’s Markets
He takes the same less-is-more approach to the garnish: “I keep my garnish simple: a stalk of celery and a couple of olives. I don’t put a whole lobster or filet mignon or rotisserie chicken in a Bloody Mary because I don’t want to detract from the drink’s flavor; I want the mix to be the star of the show.”
And at the Bloody Mary Festival, the judges agreed he’s got a winner on his hands.
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Adam H. Callaghan’s work has appeared in Food & Wine, Boston Magazine and Eater, among other publications.