Brunches and tailgates are just two of the many occasions where the Bloody Mary reigns supreme. The concoction has many variations and optional garnishments, including the Bloody Maria (with Tequila), the Bloody Joseph (with Scotch), the Bloody Maru (with sake), the Bloody Snapper (with gin), and the Bloody Caesar (with clam juice) to name a few. But the traditional or classic Bloody Mary is made with vodka, tomato juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and a dash of lemon juice and celery salt resulting in a complex blend of umami, sour, salt, and trigeminal sensations.

Although there are several variations on its origin, most accounts attribute Bloody Mary’s creation to bartender Ferdinand “Pete” Petiot, who concocted the drink in the early 1920s while working at the famed Harry’s New York Bar in Paris by combining vodka with canned tomato juice. Petiot brought the drink to the states after Prohibition ended, when he became the head bartender at the St. Regis Hotel’s King Cole Bar in Manhattan. Because some customers found the drink too bland, he adjusted the taste to be more savory.

How the Bloody Mary got its name also is uncertain with accounts ranging from Queen Mary Tudor, who executed hundreds during her reign in the 1500s to Chicago’s Bucket of Blood Saloon where a waitress named Mary worked prior to Prohibition, to a lady who would frequent Petiot’s bar and wait for a lover who would never show, to the late actor George Jessel who, in 1924, spilled it on a woman’s white dress. The woman’s name was Mary and she said, according to Jessel’s account in his autobiography, “Now you can call me Bloody Mary, George.”

No matter what the true origin of the name is, the Bloody Mary is a drink that has never lost its popularity. Cocktail aficionados can find Bloody Mary mixes ranging from the traditional to bold & spicey, to thick & savory. But the tomato-base in the drink does pose some challenges for beverage makers with its acidic notes.

A solution is to use a flavor modifier to mask the acidity. LifeWise provides SimplySavorT for not only tomato juice and Bloody Mary mixes, but tomato sauces, pizza sauces, salsa mixes, hot sauce, canned chili, and soups.

SimplySavorT is GMO free and free of allergen-label requirements. No added MSG, HVP, gluten, soy nucleotides, yeast, or other common allergenic ingredients.

Besides masking acidity, SimplySavorT brightens flavor profile, heightens tomato notes, increases savory profile, and enhances salt perception.