The One Ingredient Your Bloody Mary Is Missing Is Already In Your Spice Cabinet

Everyone from Ernest Hemingway to the bartender at your favorite dive has their own take on the bloody mary cocktail. According to legend, Hemingway liked to make the drink in bulk with a pint of vodka and tomato juice, one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, and some fresh lime juice. Some swear by infusing their vodka with horseradish or pickles, while others are interested in out-garnishing the brunch spot down the street. We spoke with Molly Horn, who is the chief mixologist and spirits educator at Total Wine & More, to get her expert input on what makes a uniquely delicious bloody mary cocktail.

According to Horn, you don't need to get too fancy with full-on burger sliders or candied maple bacon to make a respectable Bloody Mary. "I am a huge proponent of adding a pinch of cumin to your bloody [mary] — it really ties all the other flavors together and adds a certain je ne sais quoi that I have found unanimously enjoyable," Horn tells us. Adding cumin is a great move, considering this member of the parsley family has hints of citrus as well as earthy, warm flavors that are typically paired with rustic veggie dishes.

Bloody marys have been a staple on bar menus for over a hundred years. While there is some debate over the classic cocktail's origins, there's no debate over how absolutely satisfying it is as a savory way to add a little buzz to your brunch. While this Chicagoland native prefers to believe the famous cocktail traces back to a server named Mary at the Chicago saloon bar, aptly named The Bucket Of Blood, a lot of stories trace its origin back to France. The Bloody Mary we know and love today is rumored to have been invented by Fernand Petiot at Harry's New York Bar in Paris (the same place Hemingway developed his taste for the drink) Petiot's original drink was made with a mixture of canned tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, cayenne, and lemon juice.

The beautiful thing about the bloody mary cocktail is that, much like its origin story, the drink itself can be tweaked to taste. Molly Horn's advice to add cumin is a simple way to elevate the depth of flavor without changing the overall soul of the classic cocktail. If you can't get enough bloody mary flavoring in your life, try pairing your next drink with this bloody mary pasta salad recipe.