How To Repair An Unbearably Salty Bloody Mary

A Bloody Mary isn't your average cocktail. Unlike a margarita or Manhattan, this cocktail is prepared using tomato juice and a celery stick, similar to an alcoholic V-8. Different sources give varying accounts of where the cocktail was invented — some claim it was invented by bartender Fernand "Pete" Petiot at Harry's New York Bar in Paris during the 1920s. Others say it was named after a waitress at The Bucket of Blood bar in Chicago, while some claim it's just a historical pun after the English queen Mary Tudor. Regardless, this cocktail has remained a popular drink. In fact, it has become something of a staple drink at brunches.  

Since the Bloody Mary is prepared using what some may call "unconventional ingredients" — tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and celery — a common complaint of those who drink it is that the cocktail is incredibly salty. The tang of the tomato juice paired with the subtle burning heat of the vodka and hot sauce gets lost under a powerful salty flavor. Sometimes, it's to the point that the cocktail itself can't even be drunk without having to cut it with a glass of water. This is why great care is needed to ensure that a Bloody Mary remains a drink of many complex flavors working together rather than a drink with one overpowering taste.

If you find yourself with a salty Bloody Mary, don't worry. There are a few simple things you can do to help salvage this drink.

Let's say that you just took a sip of your homemade Bloody Mary and it tastes like you just emptied a shaker of tomato-flavored salt into your mouth. Before you decide to dump the cocktail down the sink, you can use one of two ingredients to help reduce that overpowering saltiness: lemon juice or rice wine vinegar. 

Lemon juice is, above all else, pretty sour, which might make you hesitant to use it. You may also be worried that your cocktail will get a vinegary taste if you use rice wine vinegar. However, it's the strong acidic flavors of both lemon juice and rice wine vinegar that make it key to neutralizing the excessively salty flavor. The strong citric acid helps give the drink a tangy flavor that masks the salt, but it doesn't outweigh the other flavors in the cocktail. You don't have to worry about replacing the salty flavor with one that's too sour or bitter.

Of course, how much lemon juice and vinegar you add depends on how salty the cocktail is and your own personal taste. You may still taste some of the salt. However, you'll find that the addition of the subtly tangy, refreshing citric acid can heighten the other flavors of the Bloody Mary.

Let's say that you take a shot of your homemade Bloody Mary and you discover that, instead of it being very salty, it's incredibly bitter. You're not sure if it's the Worchestershire sauce or something in the tomato juice, but what you do know is that it lacks tanginess or boldness. Fortunately, the fix for a very bitter Bloody Mary is the same for a very salty one: citric acid.

If your Bloody Mary is too bitter, all you need is your choice of citric acid — lemon juice (bottled or fresh-squeezed), lime juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, or rice wine vinegar. Add a few drops of it into your Bloody Mary, and then stir until the bitter taste begins to fade. Just as it does with salinity, citric acid can cut through bitterness and leave a light, refreshing flavor in its place. 

In fact, leaving out citric acid from your Bloody Mary is a common mistake some people make. Although tomato juice itself has a very acidic taste, the addition of other ingredients can offset the juice's natural flavor and overshadow it. By adding lemon, lime, orange, or vinegar, you can "refresh" some of the acidic flavors and prevent them from being lost. If your tomato juice seems to be sweeter than most, a bit of lemon or vinegar can also help to temper the sweetness without making it too bitter.