# Tomato juice vs. V8 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [February 28, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926 "2011-02-28T15:21:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/21 "2011-02-28T19:32:38Z")
If I have to choose, V-8. But they both taste like a glass of tin can to me. . . ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/22 "2011-02-28T19:34:41Z")
I prefer plain old tomato juice in the one thing that really matters… Bloody Marys. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/23 "2011-02-28T20:23:39Z")
I prefer a Bloody Ceaser myself. and make a damn good one! I load it up so much with fixin’s and mixn’s that my friend says it’s almost the salad course. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/24 "2011-02-28T21:00:28Z")
Riiiiiight. “This is a great Bloody Mary, Phil. But you know what it really needs? Bivalve fluids.” Clamato is why nobody takes Canada seriously. Or Cleveland, for that matter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/25 "2011-02-28T21:18:59Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Riiiiiight. > > “This is a great Bloody Mary, Phil. But you know what it really needs? Bivalve fluids.” > Clamato is why nobody takes Canada seriously. Or Cleveland, for that matter. 😃 That’s OK, how much did your house cost? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/26 "2011-02-28T21:21:03Z")
Touché. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/27 "2011-02-28T21:42:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “This is a great Bloody Mary, Phil. But you know what it really needs? Bivalve fluids.” I learned through my few incursions into parts of the US which aren’t thick with Canadian tourists that a Bloody Mary is a poor substitute for a proper Caesar. It’s kind of like being served a Caesar salad by someone who thinks that fermented fish sauce is something that can safely be omitted - what remains is alright, \*sort of \*- but it falls well short of the mark. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/28 "2011-02-28T21:47:42Z")
I don’t like the celery taste in V-8 so I prefer plain tomato juice. But I will drink either. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/29 "2011-02-28T22:21:31Z")
I prefer V8 to tomato juice, but I much prefer [Mott’s Garden Cocktail](http://www.canadadrymotts.ca/brands/motts-garden-cocktail-/) to either (especially the spicy flavour). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/30 "2011-03-01T00:06:24Z")
V8. Especially the Picante flavor! (Not really. The Picante flavor was vile.) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/31 "2011-03-01T00:14:56Z")
If I had to pick one, it would be tomato juice, although I don’t drink either regularly. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/32 "2011-03-01T02:55:27Z")
I have never tried either because the idea of drinking my tomatoes does not sound appealing. Although I LOVE sopping the juice from my stewed tomatoes with a piece of cheese toast. Spicy V8 was my ex-husband’s secret ingredient for his spaghetti sauce. He soaked the noodles in it. then baked it all with thick meaty paste on top of the juicy wet noodles. It was the one thing he did right. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/33 "2011-03-01T03:58:33Z")
I like V8 for the celery taste. Plain tomato juice gets a bunch of pepper added to it especially if I add it to beer. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/34 "2011-03-01T04:06:10Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I’ll go with low-sodium V8 with a splash of tabasco, thanks. Try the spicy version of V8. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/35 "2011-03-01T09:11:34Z")
I make Clamato by adding some clam juice to V8. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/36 "2011-03-01T12:52:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I make Clamato by adding some clam juice to V8. Juice or broth? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/37 "2011-03-01T13:34:58Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I prefer V-8 because of the underlying celery flavor. I agree, which is odd for me, as I usually hate celery. It definitely tastes horrible raw. But what it does to the tomato taste of V8 is sublime. ---
**Author:** ![Geron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dec6dc/32.png) [@Geron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geron)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/38 "2013-07-15T18:28:14Z")
I much prefer tomato juice…I am not sure why everybody always compares them, as they are so different…V8 tastes like celery…Tomato juice is delicious… ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/39 "2013-07-15T18:46:22Z")
V8, I’ve tried tomato juice and it’s just too much like drinking tomato sauce. I used to like the spicy but I can’t handle it anymore. I’d like to mix the two but then I end up with too much to drink at one time. When I was in my 20’s I loved it so much I heated it to make soup, sometimes I added noodles, sometimes I added lettuce\*. \*Yes, I know that sounds very weird and the idea now makes me nauseous. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926/40 "2013-07-15T18:46:46Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > I learned through my few incursions into parts of the US which aren’t thick with Canadian tourists that a Bloody Mary is a poor substitute for a proper Caesar. It’s kind of like being served a Caesar salad by someone who thinks that fermented fish sauce is something that can safely be omitted - what remains is alright, \*sort of \*- but it falls well short of the mark. (I know this is a resurrected thread, but want to comment). Ever since I discovered the Bloody Caesar, there can be no substitute. Calamto tastes infinitely better–to me–in a Bloody Mary than tomato juice or V8 (really, V8 in a Bloody Mary?) If I’m short on Clamato, I’ll do tomato juice with a few dashes of fish sauce in a pinch, but that briny sea flavor adds a lot of “meat” to the overall character of the drink. Clam juice is not that weird–you’re already adding stuff like hot sauce and worcestershire sauce (which has anchovies–ew, fish!) to a Bloody Mary, anyway. Some places will even serve it with cocktail shrimp. How is clam juice that much different? It’s basically just adding more umami with a bit of sea flavor to tomato juice. Nothing odd about that at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomato-juice-vs-v8/572926.md?page=3)