STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's 5 o'clock somewhere when Laura Gardner starts preparing for her weekly Bloody Mary Sundays at Karl's Klipper in St. George.

Regulars quietly file in starting at 11 a.m. and begin chatting up the sunshine blonde as she adds a dash of this and a pinch of that to her famous concoction. By many accounts, including one recent juried competition, her Bloody is the borough's best.

It's easy to see why, watching her choose from her dozens of different hot sauces and home-made garnishes. As many beloved bartenders do, Gardner plays the role both of drink-maker and problem-solver.

"Do cats get allergies? I think my cat must have allergies," one patron laments between sips of the savory cocktail.

"Sometimes, yes, especially this time of year," Gardner, 30, says sweetly. "Just make sure he's drinking enough water and eating enough food."

Gardner's willingness to raise spirits is one reason why she's well-suited for the job of "Bloody Mary Maven," a title she's earned after more than six years serving up the drink at Karl's Klipper. The Bloody Mary can cure the most wicked of hangovers, but the sheer volume of ingredients required is a mountain to climb.

"But I like to make the drinks that most bartenders hate to make," she said. "I'll make mojitos all summer long."

BLOODY BASIC TRAINING

Though Bloody Marys have long been a staple of the American booze catalog, the last decade's obsessive brunch consumption has launched it into the spotlight. Gardner pre-dated that trend, though, thanks to a particularly picky regular who coached her through the drink's intricacies.

"He basically trained me to make a really good Bloody Mary," she said. "And then I realized how many ingredients went into it and just took it from there."

Gardner, who works a second barkeep job at Shade in the West Village, still makes the drink to the customer's preference, but takes control of the overall flavor profile. She'll ask how spicy it needs to be and what kind of palate the drinker has, then chooses from her arsenal of ingredients.

For those who like it hot -- and I mean scalding hot -- there's her ghost pepper-infused vodka. For those with more international tastes, there's her soy-sauce and Sriracha combination.

But Gardner's strength is her traditional Bloody Mary, which includes a classic Campbell's tomato juice base, her own finely pureed horseradish, about five types of hot sauce, celery salt and pepper. The hot sauces vary widely in flavor and heat, which is where her culinary creativity comes into play. But Gardner stays loyal to the spirit of the Bloody Mary.

"There's gotta be that vegetal taste," she said. "You can only put so much hot sauce in it before it just turns into a bottle of hot sauce."

The result is a light kick in the back of the throat, but overall, a savory delight with a soothing effect.

And that's just what fits through the straw. In a world where Bloody Mary garnishes have turned into full-blown meals, Gardner's accompaniments are simple but complementary: the iconic celery stalk, stuffed olives, pickled vegetables and a sinful candied strip of bacon, which she braises in a bourbon and brown sugar glaze.

"You sure you're not a mad chemist?" A regular jokes as he watches her add a few other secret ingredients to the mix.

The cocktail's a winner. Her patrons could have told you that. But the last two years, Gardner's Bloody Mary has taken first place on Staten Island at the Stoli Vodka Bloody Mary Mix Down, a competition that seeks to find the best Bloody Mary of each Borough. She'll go on to compete in the citywide competition April 26 in Brooklyn.

ROCK OUT WITH YOUR COCKTAIL

Gardner, a Rochester native, came to Staten Island to attend Wagner College. She began making cocktails to pay her way through school, but quickly caught onto the craft as a career. She's a member of the U.S. Bartenders Guild and regularly attends seminars and events to hone her skills. When she attended a bartending camp called Camp Runamok, she saw how cocktails were turning into the new foodie movement and wanted to be a part of it.

"Some of these people were the rock stars of the cocktail world," she said. "In the same way that chefs were glorified maybe 10 years ago, now that's how it is with bartenders."

In the past few years, cocktails have become her passion. She's paying attention to the latest techniques and has learned how to hit patrons' palates with the right combination of flavors. She's a bourbon aficionado who makes her own beer at home. Booze is her business, and she treats it as such.

"It's not just hanging out and taking shots with friends," she said. "It's more than that."

In addition to the Bloody Marys, Gardner also makes a mean Cosmo, which her customers call "Laura's Crack." She puts those in pint glasses for male customers. She has also mastered the classic no-frills cocktails: The Old Fashioneds, the Manhattans, the Martinis. Next week, she hopes to begin hosting Tiki Tuesdays at Karl's -- an appreciation for which speaks to her immersion in cocktail subculture.

It's not something one would expect to find in the divey atmosphere of Karl's Klipper, where many regulars are content to sit and watch the game with a Budweiser. But her co-workers and customers say she brings an extra something to the bar.

"She brings a city feel to Staten Island," said fellow Karl's bartender Arlena Haley. "I've never seen someone so involved in her job."

CRAFTING AN NYC DESTINATION

Karl's Klipper is a local establishment that often sees the two extremes of patrons: tourists coming off the ferry and the regulars, who usually make a point to visit Gardner on her Sundays.

"Let's put it this way: I get about 200 of these Bloody Marys a year. And there are an average of 52 weeks in a year," said Bob Zion, a St. George resident. "I walk in the door, I don't even say a word and her Bloody Mary shows up."

It's rare that the bar gets the casual Staten Islander, looking for craft cocktails. Those people usually end up in Manhattan. Gardner, who obviously cares deeply about the livelihood and character of St. George, hopes to change that with her dedication to the art of cocktail crafting.

"I want Staten Island to be seen as a cocktail destination," Gardner said. "I don't think people see it like that, but I'm trying to change that."

RAISING THE BAR: This is part of an occasional series on great bartenders of Staten Island. If you know someone who fits that bill, tell us what makes them special in the comments section below or email me at lsteussy@gmail.com.