Craver of the Savory Flavor

December 8, 2014 2:13 PM

I love savory beverages. In the summer I love a good bloody mary (virgin or with vodka) and in the winter I sip hot chicken broth or miso. Can you recommend some other savory drinks?

Criteria:
- Hot or cold
- Alcohol optional
- No dairy
- Predominate flavor is savory, not sweet & salty

I saw this question, but most of the answers were for yogurt based drinks.

posted by gumtree to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

What about shrubs?
posted by Sara C. at 2:22 PM on December 8, 2014

A really good Bloody Mary alternative is the michelada. The pre-made canned ones are... not the best (though due to a lack of self-control I drink them anyways). But it's really easy to make them at home! Just take an empty glass and add maybe 1/8 C combined of:

-(mostly) Clamato
-Worcestershire sauce/Maggi seasoning
-salt
-hot sauce if you like it spicy
-lime juice

Then fill your glass to the top with a not-great Mexican beer (e.g. Tecate, Pacifico).

If you want to fancy it up, you can salt the rim of your glass. You can also extra garlic or something if you want to make it all your own. Some people add ice, which isn't bad, but I don't usually.

These are great during the summer!
posted by miltthetank at 2:27 PM on December 8, 2014

This may sound odd, but I love Yogi Tea's Moon Cycle Tea. I started drinking it when I worked at a hippie yoga studio, but I have kept buying it ever since because I really like the unusual herbal taste (and it seems to help with cramps, though that may be all placebo). The taste is hard to describe, but it's sort of like a broth of mostly savory herbs. The label says it contains fennel, anise, and parsley, among other things, and those are the flavors that jump out for me.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:42 PM on December 8, 2014

Barley tea or Hojicha (roasted green tea) are both really nice almost bread-y tasting teas. Barley tea is great cold, and Hojicha is great hot.
posted by Caravantea at 2:45 PM on December 8, 2014

And for a combo of bready and green tea, there's genmaicha, green tea with roasted rice.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:47 PM on December 8, 2014

This genmaicha has a toasty popcorn/rice flavor. I really like the Harney sachets. Nice tea without the teapot effort.

[arrgh - beat me!]
posted by mercredi at 2:48 PM on December 8, 2014

Cocoa is usually unsweetened. And while I shudder to remember my McCaffrey fanboy days, I did have The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern, and the recipe for klah is surprisingly delicious. I'd suggest steeping a stick of cinnamon in the drink though--ground cinnamon doesn't dissolve and just leaves gritty nastiness on the tongue. You can use unsweetened chocolate of course, and it would be difficult to go wrong adding some chipotle to this.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 3:05 PM on December 8, 2014

A really good Bloody Mary alternative is the michelada.

We call these a Caesar in Canada. Clamato is the key component. You can make them virgin by not adding the vodka.

I like gin martinis shaken (and garnished) with a sprig of rosemary. Fragrant.
posted by lizbunny at 3:05 PM on December 8, 2014

Genmaicha is one of my favorites.

Try a Bullshot if you like a bloody mary.

Another hot beverage is tomato soup, sipped from a mug. Mmmm. Mmmm. Good. I shot of white pepper takes it to another level.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 3:05 PM on December 8, 2014

Bovril!
posted by HandfulOfDust at 3:06 PM on December 8, 2014

I find that plain, unsweetened almond milk has a nutty, almost savory taste to it. I really like it, especially in place of regular milk for coffee, cereal, etc.

You want completely plain and completely unsweetened.
posted by spinifex23 at 3:41 PM on December 8, 2014

Rasam is a class of South Indian soups that's typically on the lighter side (rather than creamy). Super easy to make these days as you can find lots of instant packets online or at your local Indian market. Also pretty easy to make from scratch!
posted by homesickness at 3:46 PM on December 8, 2014

Numi makes a line of savory teas. I've tried the carrot curry and tomato mint. They're pretty good. But it is definitely thinner and less rich than broth. I think I would like it more if the smell didn't make me expect broth or soup. That said, they're not bad and would give you some variety.
posted by pompelmo at 3:48 PM on December 8, 2014

Barley water. Extra refreshing with some lemon in.
posted by wwax at 3:54 PM on December 8, 2014

Club soda with bitters. Bonus: there are lots and lots of kinds of bitters out there.
posted by mchorn at 4:26 PM on December 8, 2014

Shrubs, absolutely! I have this book and it's wonderful.
posted by BibiRose at 5:18 PM on December 8, 2014

oooh, Marmite! Get those B vitamins!
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 5:32 PM on December 8, 2014

Dirty Martini
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:53 PM on December 8, 2014

Samovar Turmeric Spice, Numi savory veg teas.
posted by ifjuly at 9:37 PM on December 8, 2014

Dry Soda makes some unusual, not-too-sweet flavors. I had the cucumber and it was very refreshing.
posted by radioamy at 4:29 PM on December 9, 2014

It's the wrong time of year for it, sadly, but fresh tomato juice is a whole different thing from the stuff you buy in the store (even the froufrou natural foods co-op)--thinner, more refreshing, generous pinch of salt entirely optional--and is one of my favorite savory things to drink. It's easy to make: roughly chop a whole bunch of fresh tomatoes, strain them, and store the strained liquid in an airtight container in the fridge.

Pickle juice is also good stuff.
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:28 PM on December 12, 2014