Being somewhat of a grinch, I feel I am constantly in need of a drink at Christmas time, to deal with all the stress’n’strain of dealing with forced merriment. I have an extreme hatred of mulled wine, as well as eggnog, which has tended to mean that have missed out on the more traditional aspects of Christmas; mainly, being drunk. However, having been introduced to what is essentially a Canadian Bloody Mary a couple of years ago, I have never looked back and now every Christmas involves a few of these.
The Caesar was invented in 1969 at an Italian restaurant in Calgary and was so-named to pay homage to the creator’s Italian heritage. It is now one of the most popular drinks in Canada and is particularly well known for being a hangover cure– much like the Bloody Mary. Personally, I prefer Caesars because they have a slightly saltier taste which goes better with the tomato juice and hot sauce.
Clamato, the base of the cocktail, is a blend of clam broth (or chowder) and tomato juice which is available in tinned form in Canada. However, failling this, I tend to just heat up some frozen clam chowder, then re-cool it and mix it with tomato juice. Apparently the reason why it’s not popular outside of Canada is because people think it tastes too strongly of fish but, as long as your tomato juice is of decent quality, this shouldn’t be the case. The most important aspect of this drink is, of course, the tomato juice, and I have to say that my favourite is POM juice– it manages to not have that odd ketchup-y flavour that most others do.
Also noteworthy, particularly if you’re having a party, is the fact that you can store Caesar mixture in the fridge for up to a week and it will stay relatively fresh. Merry Christmas!
1 part vodka
1 part clam broth
2 parts tomato juice
Worcestershire sauce
Hot Sauce
Lime to garnish
Celery salt to rim the glass
Celery for garnishing
