A Splash Of Vermouth Will Instantly Revamp Your Bloody Mary

The Bloody Mary, despite its detractors and its occasionally polarizing effect on drinkers, is the champion brunch cocktail. The vicious cocktail, enjoyed spicy or tame, dressed up or ungarnished, is a fabulous cure for a hangover and a delicious sipper morning, noon, and night. However, its critics are not without their points. Sometimes a Bloody Mary is just a little bit too much of a Bloody Mary. Textural concerns and flavor qualms are addressed, though, with the addition of one ingredient: vermouth.

Vermouth can be defined generally as an aromatized fortified wine. This means that red or white wine is made stronger and then distilled with herbs. Usually, you'd find vermouth in a martini, and that's exactly why playing around with vermouth in your Bloodies works: It adds a tiny bit of 'tini character to the cocktail. Vermouth is enjoyed for its silky mouthfeel, which can work wonders when united with cold liquor and a smooth Bloody Mary mix. Additionally, its herbaceous quality can lighten the heaviness of a Bloody Mary cocktail's ultra-savory flavor profile. Vermouth can be found dry or sweet; given the flavor profile of dry vermouth is tart and herbaceous, it may be a better fit for a Bloody Mary than sweet vermouth, which tends to be more floral.

Though experimentation is key, your standard Bloody Mary method needs to be tweaked to revamp it with vermouth. Since vermouth will lighten the cocktail, provide it with a silkier texture, and imbue it with an herbaceous nuance, it may be a good idea to tweak the amount of powerful tomato mix and other spiced ingredients within. In fact, simplification of the Bloody Mary will allow vermouth to play its proper part within the cocktail: Try combining a no-frills tomato juice with citrus, vodka, a dash of hot sauce, and dry vermouth.

If you're starting from scratch, both knowledge-wise and bar-readiness-wise, take a look at this guide to popular vodka brands to get an idea of what you may like. Citrus or cucumber-flavored vodka is another option to help complement the addition of vermouth in your cocktail because it doubles down on the brightness of citrus that sometimes gets lost in a too-pungent Bloody Mary. You can even make your own citrus or cucumber-flavor vodka for the task, utilizing this easy guide to infusions. Once you've settled on the direction you want to take the spirit for this cocktail, you can address the vermouth. Read up on the basics of vermouth, as well as its history and the best brands to shop for when prepping for your vermouth Bloody Mary upgrade. And feel free to keep the olive garnishes: Vermouth pairs often and well with the briney fruit.