The Ingredient That Gives Bloody Marys A Sweet And Savory Upgrade

The bloody mary is an icon, to say the least. Those of us who prefer this cocktail understand that there is nothing more refreshing than a bloody mary made exactly the way we like it. Next time you're in the mood for this tomato juice based bliss, try adding some barbecue sauce to the mixture. We've already played around with the idea of adding Old Bay seasoning and that worked out spectacularly, so why not use barbecue sauce as your next mixology experiment? When you want to achieve a smoky flavor somewhere perfectly between sweet and savory, this is the not so secret ingredient that will do the trick. 

Classic bloody mary ingredients include tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce, and a selection of spices and garnish. Barbecue sauce is used for meals like ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, or even dips for chicken nuggets. Bloody Mary recipes can be as unique as the people who are ordering them — and we are hyped about this addition to the mix.

For the person who wants to change up their regular cocktail without losing the spirit of the drink's original recipe, a bloody mary is a drink that can handle versatility. Before adding barbecue sauce to the mix, a bloody mary's ingredients do most of the work for you, creating hundreds of different flavors within the drink by just mixing well, as stated at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Barbecue sauce as another ingredient can change the overall taste of your bloody mary to give exactly the sweet and savory kick you need. Because barbecue sauces are all different, you can really control where the flavors lead.

Flavors found in sauces like the original Sweet Baby Ray's are sweeter in taste, so you can really pile on the spicy garnishes to balance out flavor styles. Jalapeños and other spicy peppers can balance the overall composition. On the other side of things, a smokey or spicy barbecue sauce can go the complete opposite way. For example, Heinz has a "Texas Style" sauce that features its own special kick. A piece of crispy bacon will thrive as a tasty garnish with the bold and spicy sauce-enhanced bloody mary. You can really venture out of the average bloody mary zone with this Japanese barbecue sauce that people love — it has a touch of sweetness. There seems to be no way to go wrong when you add barbecue sauce to your next bloody mary.