Thursday, April 29, 2010

A Canadian thing Americans really should be jealous of!

I was shocked to discover there is no such thing as Clamato in the US.  How can this be?  I was in a restaurant in New York, ordered a Ceasar with everyone else's drink order and was brought a salad.  HUH?  I think if I had wanted salad I would've ordered it with my meal!


I introduce to you...the Bloody Ceasar!  With over 250 million sold each year, the Caesar is Canada's most popular cocktail and of Canadian households that drink Caesars, 82% use Mott's Clamato as the base.

Clamato was invented in 1969 in California by the Duffy Mott Company. This spicy drink was an innovator at the time, resutling in the creation of an entire new category in blended juices called “seafood blends.” Clamato was acquired by Cadbury Beverages in 1982 as part of the purchase of Duffy-Mott.

One factor contributing to the success of Clamato was the invention of the Bloody Caesar Cocktail in 1969. Walter Chell was commissioned by the proprietors of Marco’s restaurant to come up with a new drink to celebrate their grand opening in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. After three months of exploring different recipes, Chell discovered a spicy drink made of Clamato juice, vodka, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and a dash of oregano. 


Glass rimmer is essential to the perfect ceasar - most of the time it is simply celery salt so it is sold under several brand names.

The Perfect Ceasar

1 1/2 oz. Vodka
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Dash of Tabasco Sauce (Optional)
1/2 tsp. Horseradish (Or more if you like)
Splash of Lemon Juice
Clamato Juice (Mott's)
Celery Salt (Or Rim-It)
 
Rim a collins or, in my case, a pint glass.  Mix the other ingredients together and stir well.  This is best consumed on a patio in the sunshine while avoiding some other work/house/mommy related thing you should be doing.  I like to think of of Ceasars as meal replacements.
 
Now I know a lot of you are going to think this is a Bloody Mary - trust me, it's not.  We don't care how you do it down South....this is how we do it up North!
 
 
Have a fabulous day!

22 comments:

Kelly and Sara said...

Hmmm...never heard of it. Always love trying new drinks. Thanks for sharing!

http://peace-love-tbell.blogspot.com/

Ms. Bake-it said...

Wow! What a blast from the past! I have not thought of Clamato in years. Well, if they do not sell it here now, they certainly did in the past (At least in the New England area). My grandmother used make drinks with it. I distinctly remember her making Bloody Mary's with it. She would have loved the Perfect Caesar!

~ Tracy

KatiePerk said...

We have it down here in SC! My husband makes bloody mary's with half clamato half v-8. I also use Clamato when i make some soups!
I will try the Caesar! Yum Yum!

Jessica Ryan said...

Sure there is Clamato here in the US!!! Pshaw... you just need to ask your Drinking American friends!!! ;)

Same Sweet Girl: Memoir of a Southern Belle said...

Interesting!!! I never really got into Bloody anything but it's been a while since I've tried one. I might have to try one again. Thanks for the recipe!!! :)

Belle on Heels said...

we have clamato!! i even saw convenient one-serving sized clamato cans when i was in california :)

Associate Girl said...

I always drink these with my cousins when I am Edmonton!

Snooty Primadona said...

That's exactly the way we make them here in Texas and we love Clamato! A lot of bars/restaurants carry it and a lot don't. However, we just buy it at the grocery store and have them at home where we can make them as we like them... good & hot.

;-)

Bethany said...

Clamato is hard to find, but I've seen it here in the U.S. It's used as a chaser for tequila in Mexico!!!

Mrs. Z said...

We have it here in Indiana...amazing, huh? Need me to ship some to you? :)

Suburban Princess said...

CZ - thanks but we can buy it everywhere in Canada! It is the national drink!

Bridget said...

We used to be able to get Clamato on Cape Cod in Ma - I will have to check it out and see if it's still available. My grandmother used to only like her Bloody Marys with Clamato

Travelbugmom said...

Agree - hard to find, but we have it!
We are meant to be friends - my post tomorrow is similar!

Gwen said...

Well...I love myself a Bloody Mary (or 5) so I'm sure I would also love a Bloody Ceasar!! XOXO

Anastasia Schembri said...

Wow, I would have thought that everybody knew of the Bloody Caeser (one of my favs!) but why does it not surprise me that the lovely EntertainingMom knew exactly what it was! (LMAO!)

highheeledlife said...

A Bloody Ceasar - beats a v-8 for getting your daily veggies any day!! Come to think of it I haven't been getting enough veggies ..lol.. cheers!

Toad said...

Never seen rimmer though. I'll add it to my list. Thanks

Nikosmommy said...

Apparently you can find Clam in some places in the U.S. but believe me almost NO one has heard of a Ceasar!! Being from Calgary of course everyone has to remind a bartender when they order that the drink originated here!!! (we all know it!)
It's not my personal fave but seeing as we own a bar/restaurant I'm so glad they exist because we sell SO many of them!!! (though I'm honestly not familiar with the "bloody" part of the name)
We serve it with either a pickled green bean or pickled asparagus. Delightful!

Erin said...

I hadn't heard of Clamato. I always make Bloody Marys with Zing Zang which already has the worsteshire and spice added. But above commenters say they make Bloody Marys with Clamato so what is the difference? They sound so similar. I'm sure I would love one, especially if it came with a shrimp in it like that picture!

Sherrie said...

I love Blood Marys! We do have clamato here. That is funny about the salad. :)

KDot said...

I love caesars but one night while on vacation in Mexico, I had three too many. That was not a pretty sight.

Sara McCarty said...

Yeah, I think Sherrie said it right. We DO have Clamato in the US. The packaging looks a little different, but it's still made by Motts. However, no one here calls it a Ceasar...they call it a "Bloody Mary made with Clamato juice." Same thing, different name. (I love CLAMATO! And now I want a Ceasar!)