IT took him nearly six years to perfect the recipe, but Arkadiusz Danielski, known as Dan to his friends, can officially claim to make the best Bloody Mary in Dorset.

The Polish-born mixologist, battled it out with bartenders across the county at this year’s Bournemouth Food and Drink Festival.

Now Dan’s Bloody Mary is one of several specialist drinks on the menu at Longhorn Burgers in Bournemouth, where he is now the general manager.

“Bloody Mary is my favourite drink and I have been working on the perfect recipe for about six years.

“There’s a lot of ingredients involved and it takes about six hours to make one batch.

“I use a carefully blended spice mix using Dorset-grown vegetables as well as a couple of locally sourced ingredients.”

His secret formula won over the judges’ taste buds, for its perfect balance of ingredients including Isle of Wight tomato juice, Dorsetshire sauce and biltong on the side.

The competition was organised by James Fowler, owner of the Larderhouse in Southbourne, who was named Britain’s best bartender.

The restaurant which opened its doors last month in Post Office Road, is the UK’s first to specialise in Longhorn beef.

Refreshing drink not just for hangovers

Dan’s Bloody Mary is certainly a far cry from the firey, Tabasco laden, throat burning beverage that you come across in many bars.

This is made with locally sourced tomatoes and fresh herbs such as parsley, rosemary and lemon thyme and Dan’s homemade vegetable stock to give it a full depth of flavour He agreed to share one secret ingredient – pickled gherkin juice, which is a nod to his native Poland.

It also contains the renowned Dorset Naga chilli to give it just the right amount of lingering heat at the back of the throat.

All in all, a deliciously refreshing drink which is practically a meal in itself and definitely not just for hangover cures.