Caesar Season!
The Victoria Day long weekend is around the corner to officially launch us into Caesar season. Fittingly, the Thursday before the long weekend, May 19 is National Caesar Day, a day to celebrate a Canadian born cocktail that is enjoyed across the country. The Caesar is Canada's national cocktail. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Caesar resembles the Bloody Mary which has claims of creation in America and France. The Bloody Mary is made with simple tomato juice and the Caesar with a blend of tomato juice and clam juice, which prompted an exclusively Canadian cocktail mix: Clamato juice, a combination of clam and tomato juice, which you can find on the shelves of almost every market in the country. The clam juice adds a perfect extra kick that makes this cocktail the perfect brunch or backyard BBQ companion.
Where did our beloved Caesar come from?
Walter Chell invented the Caesar cocktail in 1969. The Calgary Inn asked Chell to craft a cocktail to celebrate the opening of its new Italian restaurant, Marco’s. Chell spent about three months formulating the drink. He drew inspiration from spaghetti alle vongole, a pasta dish made with clams. Chell mashed clams to produce “clam nectar” and mixed it with tomato juice and spices. The final formulation included vodka, tomato juice, clam nectar, Worcestershire sauce and celery salt. In 1994, Chell told the Toronto Star his secret ingredient was a dash of oregano. He also said he did not include Tabasco sauce.The cocktail was originally named The Caesar. One Englishman tried the Caesar and said, “Walter, that’s a damn good bloody Caesar.” After this incident, Chell said he called the drink the Bloody Caesar.
Mott’s estimates that more than 350 million Caesars are consumed each year, which is basically a million Caesars a day. Something definitely worth celebrating. So celebrate with us and stock up on all your caesar needs!
Okay, I want a Caesar now.
Check out these Caesar recipes variations to keep things spicy and new. We have a Caesar recipe for vodka, gin, whisky and moonshine lovers alike.
VODKA LOVERS
A classic spicy Caesar featuring our crisp and refreshing Top Shelf Vodka!
Make this cocktail: TOP SHELF SPICY CAESAR
GIN LOVERS
Featuring our classic gin, with a spicy kick. Typically made with a Vodka base, it's not uncommon to see variations made with gin or even tequila. This spicy combination with a base of our Top Shelf Gin promises to kick things up a notch.
Make this cocktail: CALABRESE CAESAR
WHISKY LOVERS
With a base of our Perth Whisky, this not so common Caesar combo is a new classic. With an added punch from the whisky, this Caesar will keep the BBQ good times going.
Make this cocktail: BACKYARD BBQ CAESAR
MOONSHINE LOVERS
This caesar features our new Field Trip Wild Honey Garlic Moonshine! A perfect balance of sweet, salt and spice. This is a must try Caesar!
Make this cocktail: WILD HONEY GARLIC CAESAR
A fun fact to share over your next Caesar!
In 2019, Saskatchewan’s Last Mountain Distillery mixed a 750 L Caesar cocktail. The drink contained 312 bottles of Mott’s Clamato, 20 bottles of lime juice and 18 bottles of Worcestershire sauce. This Caesar surpassed the previous Guinness World Record for the largest Bloody Mary or Caesar cocktail (588 L) set by the Ontario Plowmen’s Association and Highbury Canco in 2018.
Meredith and Colin Schmidt, co-owners of Last Mountain Distillery, stand beside the tank used to make a 750-litre Caesar, a world-record cocktail. The Caesar was made as part of their 5th annual Caesar Fest, which took place on July 6, 2019
