Why Your Bloody Mary Might Taste Different In The Afternoon

A bloody mary is the perfect accompaniment to a weekend brunch. The tomato-based vodka drink is spicy and acidic and is believed to be an excellent (albeit temporary) hangover cure. Needless to say, it secured its icon status as a brunch drink celebrity. But have you ever noticed you never see people drinking a bloody mary past brunch hours? The cocktail seems confined to a liminal pre-noon drinking spot — but for a good reason. The bloody marys you drink at brunch may taste wildly different than a bloody mary you'd get at night. This is because many establishments only use a homemade, high-quality, tomato juice mix during the day when the drink is most commonly ordered. By the time evening rolls around, some bars choose to switch to a premade drink mixer, which is often not as good as homemade ones.

Most bartenders prep the necessary ingredients to make a good-tasting bloody mary for the mornings when they are most typically ordered. This is to make their job easier at any point in the day. Having all the stuff to make a bloody mary in the evening and then having few patrons order it, would just mean more clean up for the closing bartender. You can order a bloody mary at night, but it may not have all the right fixings and ratios to be the satisfying cocktail you're familiar with.

If your favorite part about the bloody mary is the spice you get from the horseradish, consider ordering a spicy margarita. Spicy margaritas come in a variety of flavors and you can choose almost any juice to be mixed in. The spice comes from jalapenos and occasionally cayenne pepper. This hot cocktail will satisfy your craving for heat without sacrificing the quality of your drink. If you're a fan of the edible garnish that comes with your typical bloody mary consider ordering a martini with an olive garnish. Most martinis that are made dirty (made with a splash of olive juice) will come with an olive garnish to complement the drink. These olive garnishes can range from simple green olives to pimento or blue cheese-stuffed delicacies.

If you order a bloody mary for the combination of vodka and hangover help, consider ordering a screwdriver, which is vodka and orange juice. This drink still gives you a kick of alcohol paired with the high levels of vitamin C that come in a bloody mary. You can ask your bartender to add in a little salt for extra help with electrolytes. While it may not taste that similar, it still offers you all the good parts of a bloody mary without sacrificing quality and taste value.