THE MEAL-IN-A-GLASS mishmash of ingredients in a Bloody Mary is important for a truly successful hair-of-the-dog hangover cure, because if we’re being honest, the dog that bit us is rarely a purebred. After years of more than occasional utility, the Bloody Mary has grown on me as a cocktail, not just a hangover cure. Some bartenders and drinkers pooh-pooh the drink—it’s basically food with a shot of liquor in it, after all—but in the right hands, it can be a godsend.
Recently however, I’ve been tempted by a similar drink, albeit one slightly less foody: the michelada. Often featuring a similar saucy, spicy composition, the michelada is like a Bloody Mary but with beer instead of liquor and usually sans tomato. In some ways, it’s a better hangover cure: The bubbles of the beer even have a stimulating effervescence that massages the tongue—the muscle you most abused the night before.
But which is the better drink? Frankly, I still don’t know. But the following are a sampling of the some of the best Portland has to offer in each category:
