Did you know the Caesar drink is similar to a bloody mary but is actually inspired by Italy.
There isn’t a lot of “Canadian food” that is only found in Canada but the caesar drink is one exception, and what better day to share a great caesar recipe than National Caesar Day – the Thursday before the May 24 long weekend, also known as Canada’s unofficial start to summer – let’s hope it doesn’t snow like it did last weekend.
At its very simplest the caesar is made with vodka, clamato juice, hot sauce, and worcestershire sauce. The glass is rimmed with celery salt and garnished with a stalk of celery.
Although that’s just the base. Personally I think horseradish is a must but not everyone serves it. There are so many options for how to garnish a caesar drink some pubs have caesar bars where you can decide if you want a celery stalk, piece of crispy bacon or spicy pickled green as your garnish and just how much horseradish, worcestershire sauce or hot sauce you need.
I like enough horseradish so it begins to taste like cocktail sauce – odd but true.
Caesars are considered a hangover drink and an essential to any Canadian brunch menu.
Origins of the Caesar Drink
The caesar is much like a bloody mary except we use Clamato juice – a strange concoction of clam and tomato juice. It’s also very similar to the michelada in Mexico, which is also a hangover cure. But surprisingly the caesar was inspired by Italy.
Walter Chell created the caesar recipe in 1969 as a signature drink for the opening of new new Italian restaurant in Calgary. The caesar drink was meant to reflect the flavours of spaghetti alla vongole – spaghetti with clams and tomato sauce.
Classic Caesar Recipe
The basic caesar recipe follows 1-2-3-4-5 rule. You can use any vodka and change the ratio depending on how hot you like it but don’t skip the clamato juice.
- Follow the 1-2-3-4-5 rule for creating the Classic Caesar
- Ingredients
- 1.5oz vodka
- 2Dashes hot sauce
- 3Dashes salt and pepper
- 4Dashes worcestershire sauce
- 5oz Clamato juice
- Celery salton plate
- 1 lime
- Create a celery salt rim on the glass by running the lime around the glass rim and turning the glass upside down to dip in the celery salt.
- Add all ingredients to glass with ice, garnish with a celery stalk.
If you want to kick it up a notch throw in a tablespoon of horseradish, it’s not the classic recipe but it’s so delicious.
Love cocktails? Also check out:
Moscow Mule
Aperol Spritz Cocktail
Classic Whisky Cocktails
Cuba Libre Cocktail
![The Michaelada is just one of the easy Cinco de Mayo recipes to make to celebrate the Mexican holiday]()
Mexican Michelada
The Caesar Drink: Canada’s National Cocktail is a post from: Bacon is Magic