Try This Grated Ingredient For A Bloody Mary With Sharper Flavor (No, Not Horseradish)

While espresso martinis undoubtedly rule the evenings, bloody marys are the star of the pre-noon hours. This classic cocktail recipe, which everyone should know how to make, was seemingly created for the folks who prefer savory over sweet. Yet, "savory" doesn't seem to cover it. Bloody marys can also include salty, spicy, peppery, and, surprisingly, gingery flavors.

Ginger is an excellent addition to your bloody mary because it offers a unique, sensory-clearing punch and works well with common bloody mary ingredients, including the tomato juice base, Worcestershire sauce, quality vodka, and usually extravagant toppings — which run the gamut of shrimp cocktail, citrus, celery sticks, and more. Unlike these common ingredients, though, ginger has the perfect balance of peppery, bold, and bright flavors, making it an ingredient that will stick out in an otherwise underwhelming breakfast cocktail. And you can always add as much or as little as you like, depending on whether you want that flavor to stand out. 

There are numerous pathways that you can take to add ginger to your cocktail, with the first being infusing ginger into the vodka. Obviously, this is going to be the most time-consuming method, but the brightness of the ginger will really pair well with the sharpness and clear flavor of the vodka. Let the sliced ginger sit with the vodka for at least three days before straining out the ginger pieces. Besides ginger bloody marys, you can also use this infused vodka for other drinks — boozy vodka ginger lemonade, anyone?

You can also turn your ginger root into a spicy ginger syrup. Like the vodka, this is a great method if you don't want to inadvertently bite into or suck up a piece of ginger in your straw. Just simmer the root pieces in a homemade simple syrup and strain the pieces before bottling. However, if you don't mind the boldness, just grate some ginger into your glass using a microplane.