7 Savory Cocktails You'll Crave

A little more than herbal but not as outlandish as a brothtail, savory cocktails are a staple you may not have thought of in their own category. A tomato spritz or classic Bloody Mary fits the bill, or try a dirty martini or even a timeless Lion's Tail. Let's explore the savory side of cocktails.

The timeless lion's tail, it's a bourbon drink that falls just outside of the usual suspects when it comes to bourbon drinks. But this bourbon drink is different: it's savory, it's spiced, it's a touch sour, and it is perfectly balanced.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces bourbon
• ½ ounce allspice dram
• ¼ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• ⅛ ounce simple syrup
• 2-3 dashes aromatic bitters
• Ice
• Orange peel for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Chill a coupe glass.
2. In a cocktail shaker, add ice, bourbon, allspice dram, lime juice, simple syrup, and bitters.
3. Shake to chill.
4. Strain into the chilled glass.
5. Garnish with an orange twist, if desired.

A lighter, and less boozy, savory option than the Lion's Tail or usual bloody Mary, the tomato spritz is a crisp and savory dream.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces dry vermouth
• ½ ounce gin
• 1 ounce tomato juice
• 1 ounce flat water
• Ice
• 1 ounce prosecco
• Club soda to top off
• Lemon wedge for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. In a rocks or highball glass, add ice, dry vermouth, gin, tomato juice, and flat water.
2. Stir briefly to mix.
3. Add prosecco.
4. Top off with club soda.
5. Garnish with a lemon wedge, if desired.

The quintessential savory cocktail: the Bloody Mary. Of course, you can enjoy a tequila twist with a Bloody Maria, or a fizzy bloody beer.

It's a given, tomato cocktails are as savory as it gets. A rich Michelada, oyster shooter, and savory margarita all do the trick.

Gin and beet juice, that signature combination of herbaceous and earthy, unites into the perfect marriage with Campari to make a memorable and savory negroni.

Sub the beet-infused gin for an ounce and a half of gin and half of an ounce of beet juice.

Ingredients

• 1½ ounces beet-infused gin
• 1½ ounces sweet vermouth
• 1½ ounces Campari
• Ice
• Orange twist for garnish

Instructions

1. In a mixing glass, add ice, beet-infused gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari.
2. Stir rapidly to chill.
3. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
4. Garnish with an orange peel.

Channel your inner mixologist and dive headfirst into the seductively magenta world of beet drinks.

Pair gin with a little salt and bitterly sour grapefruit juice, and you have a refreshing albeit salty but savory cocktail.

Ingredients

• Grapefruit wedge and salt for rim
• 2 ounces gin OR vodka
• Ice
• Grapefruit juice to top off
• Grapefruit slice and lime slice for garnish

Instructions

1. To prepare rim, rub the rim of the glass with the grapefruit wedge.
2. With the salt on a saucer, dip either half or the entire rim of the glass in the salt to coat.
3. In the prepared glass, add ice, gin, and grapefruit juice.
4. Garnish with grapefruit slice and lime slice.

Indulge in a savory onion garnish with a Gibson martini. Likewise, you can consider playing it safe with a dirty martini -- or a variation or two.

You've heard of dessert in a glass, but probably not a snack in a glass. Okay, that doesn't quite work. But these savory cocktails work when you're looking for something to itch that spot for a cocktail that's a little earthier, a little saltier, and a little richer than all the rest.