Vampiro

No. A Bloody Maria is savory the whole way through, seasoned with hot sauce, salt and pepper. This one runs sweet and tart against the tomato thanks to orange juice and grenadine, and carries no spice at all unless you add it at the rim.

Chili-lime salt, Tajín being the usual jar. Wet the outer edge with a lime wedge and roll it in a saucer of the stuff, keeping it outside the glass so it doesn't all fall in. Not required, but the drink is short on salt and heat without it.

Tomato juice is a suspension, not a solution, and the pulp drops as soon as it stops moving. Nothing has gone wrong. Give it a stir with the straw every few sips. Rolling the drink between two tins rather than shaking it keeps the texture heavier and slows the settling.

You'll be making the version most Mexican bars pour: tequila, sangrita and grapefruit soda over ice, salt on the rim. It's fizzier and sweeter than this one, and the tomato arrives as seasoning rather than as the body of the drink. Both go by the same name.

A classic Vampiro calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Tequila, 60 ml (2 oz) Tomato juice, 30 ml (1 oz) Orange juice, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Fresh lime juice, 8 ml (0.25 oz) Grenadine. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Vampiro is roughly 11% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it a relatively light, sessionable drink — similar in strength to a beer.

A Vampiro is stirred, not shaken. It contains no citrus juice, so stirring keeps it crystal clear and silky instead of cloudy and aerated.