The Most Heavenly Interview with the Virgin Mary Cocktail Company

Marty's is re-inventing the at home Virgin Mary. Moving away from thick consistencies & overly sweet flavours, they are a brunch essential for when you aren't drinking this Spring and Summer!! We speak with the Marty’s team to hear more after their feature in February's JOMO Club discovery box.

Q: Can we start with an introduction to the Marty's Virgin Mary?

Meet Marty's Virgin Bloody Mary, a bottle of umami, well-spiced deliciousness in glass. Marty’s is currently living in the shivering shadow of a few really lame (probably super gloopy) tomato juices you've encountered before. Marty’s is different, you’ll be surprised. Made with gut-loving apple cider vinegar, our juices are light and refreshing packed full of flavour, not sugar.

Q: Bloody Mary’s can be overly sweet with a slightly too thick consistency. You are looking to shake this up. How does your Virgin Mary differ from this?

With so many sweet drinks dominating the mindful drinking category, we (sibling co-founders Martin and Paula) created Marty’s because we recognised the need for delicious and umami-packed alternatives that do not need alcohol or unhealthy ingredients to feel complete. It took us a while to get the consistency just right because we realised that the biggest misconception about tomato juice is that it is heavy and dense.Tomato cocktails do not have to feel like you are swallowing your way through a bottle full of cold soup. A Virgin Bloody Mary can actually be light, lovely, and super refreshing.

Q: Why the Virgin Mary?

Marty’s Virgin Mary is a taste of our foodie upbringing in South Africa. The name “Marty’s” is an ode to Martin’s obsession as a child with creating the perfect signature tomato cocktail to signify the beginning of a family holiday. It would be his treat drink of choice, and nothing reminds us more of a relaxing holiday by the pool than his super savoury, refreshing, spiced tomato juice.

Q: We are in a super interesting time at the moment as more move away from alcohol. Have there been any interesting trends across both alcohol and non-alcoholic?

We at Marty’s are pro-choice. We encourage drinkers to enjoy us straight up or pair with their favourite (non) alcoholic tipple. Some of our biggest supporters use Marty’s as a mixer for an alcoholic cocktail, but what has excited us even more is that many of those fans have acknowledged that our drink tastes just as good without the booze. It has always been our goal to offer our customers an alternative to the alcoholic version that doesn’t feel like they are missing out in any way. We like to think that this approach allows people to drink more mindfully whether it is drinking less alcohol on a single night, less alcohol for a month or to allowing them to go completely booze free.

Q: How would you enjoy Marty’s for the best experience?

The wonderful thing about a Virgin Bloody Mary is that it is a foodie’s drink with complex flavours - you can make an occasion out of each serving. We suggest that you spoil yourself (and your partner) and garnish with falafel balls, some crispy bacon rashers or even a mini cheese sandwich. For slightly less fuss, chill the bottles, rim the glass(es) with chilli salt, garnish with olives or a stick of celery, add 2 blocks of ice and just savour the umami flavour.

Q: Using tomatoes, spices and apple cider vinegar, while including no sugars or artificial ingredients is a Marty’s Virgin Mary actually good for you?

Tomato juice, when it's made the right way, without additives and sugar, is very good for you. Low in calories, tomato juice aids natural rehydration, and promotes overall well-being. This is, incidentally, also why the classic Bloody Mary is such a popular choice at morning-after-the-night-before brunch tables around the globe. We do have some customers who drink us as part of their daily routine.

Marty's contains unfiltered apple cider vinegar which is great for gut health & packed with vitamins A and C, essential for skin health and immunity. It's also a rich source of antioxidants, like lycopene, known to support heart health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

Q: Can you tell us a bit more about your origin story?

Yes, Marty’s, like many great businesses, began in a garage in Cape Town (South Africa). Our aim was to create a product with a clean ingredients list made from real, locally sourced, whole produce. So, when we decided to make the very best non-alcoholic Bloody Mary, we knew that we needed to start at the very beginning, with tomatoes. To make the nectar of our dreams, we first borrowed a juicer. Later we transitioned to a modified hydraulic workshop press and food-grade buckets. But our dedication to hand-pressed tomatoes didn't stop there and we eventually upgraded to an apple hopper and wine press (as small-scale tomato processing machinery doesn't really exist). Today, we manufacture our product in both South Africa and the UK still using local ingredients but Marty’s is no longer made in a garage. Still, these lessons taught us about what we want and don’t want in our finished product. Marty’s has been through countless iterations, many group tastings and has taken up plenty of kitchen window sill space, but every aspect of the recipe has always been created entirely by the Marty’s team in our home kitchens (or garages).

Q: At the beginning, you said you didn’t want to be slowed down just because you had no money. Where does this drive come from and what is your key learning from this to share with people?

Few people have this mindset and are as brave! South Africans are resourceful by nature and building a growing self-funded business means that there is seldom any surplus budget but we don’t feel that this should ever be a barrier. We actually think that it has made us smarter and more dynamic. We can’t afford to make expensive mistakes but we do know that we need to learn so our moto is: “Try and fail fast”, every learning is growth which is a building block for future success

Want to try Marty's Virgin Mary? You can buy on their website here.