It takes a precise touch to make the perfect Bloody Mary, in fact, there’s science going on in that glass, as seen in this ever nifty pictorial of Bloody Mary flavors and notes.

This week, analytic chemist Neil Da Costa from the International Flavors and Fragrances presented it at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Key point here is to keep it juice flowing, ice it and keep it fresh because it’s, ahem, “a highly unstable concoction, and the quality tends to deteriorate quickly.” Otherwise, instead of all those colorful little taste notes you’ll get a punchy soggy tomato crap.

In case the chart doesn’t do it for you, NPR makes the Hemmingway connection. Now it’s scientific and literary. Drink up.