Caesar (cocktail)

Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Infobox cocktail A Caesar is a cocktail created and consumed primarily in Canada. It typically contains vodka, Clamato, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, and is served with ice in a large, celery salt-rimmed glass, typically garnished with a stalk of celery and wedge of lime.<ref name="Esrock2017">Template:Cite book</ref> What distinguishes it from a Bloody Mary is the inclusion of clam broth. The cocktail may also be contrasted with the Michelada, which has similar flavouring ingredients but uses beer instead of vodka.

Origin

'Bloody Mary a La Milo' in the 1951 Ted Saucier cocktail book titled 'Bottoms Up' (page 45), appears to be the first published cocktail recipe that includes vodka, tomato juice, clam juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Saucier credits the recipe to Milo J. Sutliff, Publisher, New York. This pre-dates the version at the Polonaise nightclub in Manhattan,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> which debuted in November 1953.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The drink was introduced as the "Smirnoff Smiler" by owner Paul Pawlowski.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In December 1953, columnist Walter Winchell reported that the drink was seasoned with "a dash of Wooooshhhtasheer Sauce".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1959, cartoonist and creator of The Addams Family, Charles Addams (employed by the New Yorker magazine, a few blocks from the Polonaise) claimed he invented the "Gravel Gertie", a cocktail of clam/tomato juice and vodka seasoned with Tabasco sauce.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1962, Carl La Marca, bar manager at the Baker Hotel in Dallas, invented the "Imperial Clam Digger", adding a basil garnish and dash of lime to an existing version of the "Smirnoff Smiler", called the "Clam Digger".<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

In October 1968, Seagram president Victor Fischel and Mott's Clamato marketer Ray Anrig claimed to have invented the seasoned tomato/clam/vodka cocktail, the "Clamdigger" earlier in 1968, in Manhattan.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Seagram, headquartered 2 blocks from the Polonaise, filed a trademark application on the name "Clamdigger" claiming first use on May 31, 1968.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> From late 1968 to the end of 1969, Seagram and Mott's ran a major advertising promotion of the "Clam Digger" cocktail recipe in national magazines.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

The Caesar was invented in 1969 by restaurant manager Walter Chell<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of the Calgary Inn (today the Westin Hotel) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Chell devised the cocktail after being tasked to create a signature drink for the Calgary Inn's new Italian restaurant.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He mixed vodka with clam and tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, and other spices,<ref name="CBC40th">Template:Cite news</ref> creating a drink similar to a Bloody Mary, but with a uniquely spicy flavour.<ref name="Cocktailbook">Template:Cite book</ref>

Chell said his inspiration came from Italy. He recalled that in Venice, they served Spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with tomato sauce and clams. He reasoned that the mixture of clams and tomato sauce would make a good drink, and mashed clams to form a "nectar" that he mixed with other ingredients.<ref name="TS25th">Template:Cite news</ref>

According to Chell's granddaughter, his Italian ancestry led him to call the drink a "Caesar".<ref name="CBC40th" /> The longer name of "Bloody Caesar" is said to differentiate the drink from the Bloody Mary, but Chell said it was a regular patron at the bar who served as the inspiration. During the three months he spent working to perfect the drink, he had customers sample it and offer feedback. One regular customer, an Englishman, who often ordered the drink said one day, "Walter, that's a damn good bloody Caesar".<ref name="TS25th" />

Popularity

Chell said the drink was an immediate hit with the restaurant's patrons, claiming it "took off like a rocket".<ref name="TS25th" /> Within five years of its introduction, the Caesar had become Calgary's most popular mixed drink.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It spread throughout Western Canada, then to the east.<ref name="TS25th" /> Coinciding with its 40th anniversary, a petition was launched in 2009 in the hopes of having the Caesar named the nation's official mixed drink.<ref name="WFP40">Template:Cite news</ref> In Calgary, Mayor Dave Bronconnier celebrated the drink's anniversary by declaring May 13, 2009 Caesar Day in the city.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Mott's company was independently developing Clamato, a mixture of clam and tomato juices, at the same time the Caesar was invented. Sales of Clamato were initially slow: Mott's sold only 500 cases of Clamato in 1970,<ref name="Cocktailbook" /> but sales consistently increased after the company's distributors discovered Chell's drink.<ref name="Tribune">Template:Cite news</ref> By 1994, 70% of Mott's Clamato sales in Canada were made to mix Caesars, while half of all Clamato sales were made in Western Canada.<ref name="TS25th" /> Motts’s claims that the Caesar is the most popular mixed drink in Canada, estimating that over 350 million Caesars are consumed every year.<ref name="CBCHailCaesar">Template:Cite news</ref>

In the United States, the Caesar is typically available at bars along the Canada–United States border.<ref name="TS25th" /> Elsewhere, bartenders will frequently offer a Bloody Mary in its place.<ref name="CH40th">Template:Cite news</ref> In Europe, the drink can be found wherever there are higher concentrations of Canadians.<ref name="FFT40">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The drink's anonymity outside Canada has continued in spite of concerted marketing efforts.<ref name="Tribune" /> Producers of clam-tomato juices have speculated that their beverages have been hampered by what they describe as the "clam barrier". They have found that consumers in the United States fear that there is too much clam in the beverages.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}.</ref>

While Mott's Clamato continues to be synonymous with the cocktail, other producers have begun offering alternative Caesar mixes. Walter Caesar (named in honor of Chell) was launched in 2013 to offer an 'all-natural' alternative to Clamato.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Walter Caesar also became the first Caesar mix in Canada to be approved by Ocean Wise by using ocean-friendly clam juice from the North Atlantic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Caesar is popular as a hangover "cure",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though its effectiveness has been questioned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mott's holds an annual "Best Caesar in Town" competition as part of the Prince Edward Island International Shellfish Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Contests held across Canada to celebrate the cocktail's 40th anniversary in 2009 encouraged variants that featured the glass rimmed with Tim Hortons coffee grounds, Caesars with maple syrup, and Caesars with bacon-infused vodka.<ref name="CH40th" />

The first liquor store dedicated to the Caesar opened on July 1, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Preparation

Basic preparation of a Caesar follows the "one, two, three, four" rule. The recipe calls for one Template:Convert shot of vodka, two dashes of hot sauce, three dashes of salt and pepper, four dashes of Worcestershire sauce and topped with Template:Convert of caesar mix and served with ice.<ref name="WFP40" /> The ingredients are poured into a glass rimmed with celery salt or a mixture of salt and pepper and garnished with a celery stalk and lime.<ref name="CH40th" />

The Caesar is an unusual drink in that it can be mixed in bulk and stored for a period of time before drinking.<ref name="Cocktailbook" />

Variants

Though it was not one of Chell's original ingredients, Tabasco sauce is a frequent addition,<ref name="TS25th" /> as is horseradish.<ref name="Cocktailbook" /> Vodka is occasionally replaced with gin, tequila or rum, though the Clamato may not be substituted.<ref name="Cocktailbook" /> A variant that replaces vodka with beer is commonly called a "Red Eye"<ref name="CBCHailCaesar" /> or a "Clam Eye", one with Vodka and a beer bottle on top is a "Bloody MooseHead",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and one without alcohol is a "Virgin Caesar".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> The Toronto Institute of Bartending operates a "Caesar School" in various locations across Canada that teaches bartenders how to mix several variants of the drink.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Canadian cuisine
• List of Canadian inventions and discoveries
• List of cocktails
• Queen Mary (cocktail)

External links

• Template:Commons-inline