Caesar (cocktail)

A Caesar, sometimes referred to as a "Bloody Caesar" or a "Clammy Mary" after the similar Bloody Mary, is a cocktail popular mainly in Canada. It typically contains vodka, clamato (a blend of tomato juice and clam broth), Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and is served on the rocks in a large, celery salt-rimmed glass, and typically garnished with a stalk of celery and wedge of lime. A common nickname for a version without vodka is "Virgin Caesar".

In the U.S. it's known as a clamdigger, and many Canadians living abroad prize a bartender who can mix a good Caesar. It is thus popularly known as the "official cocktail" of Canada.

During the early 2000s, Mott's even printed the Caesar recipe on bottles of the Clamato juice sold in the United States, but the cocktail drink remains relatively unknown there.

History

The cocktail, known in the U.S. as a clamdigger, was invented by bartender Walter Chell at the Owl's Nest Bar in the Westin Hotel in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1969, to accompany the opening of a new restaurant, "Marco's". In its original form, it contained tomato juice and mashed clams; Clamato had only just been released (with the assistance of Chell) by the American Mott's company that very year, and was not yet widely known or available.

Starting in 2002, Mott's began marketing pre-mixed Caesars in twelve-ounce bottles.

Variations can include substituted or added ingredients, like salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, horseradish, or lemon juice, seasoning salt or lemon pepper (rather than celery salt), a garnish of dill pickled cucumber, spicy pickled green bean or asparagus. Occasionally a prawn (especially in seafood restaurants) or crisp bacon is used as a garnish.

External links

• Bloody Caesar Recipe
• Bloody Caesar Recipe
• A Cincinnati Post article on clamato juice
• Clamato fact sheet