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Caesar

Caesar: vodka and clam-tomato juice with Worcestershire, hot sauce and lime in a celery-salt rim, Canada's brunch cocktail

The Caesar was created in Calgary in 1969, when a hotel bartender was asked to invent a drink for a new Italian restaurant and thought of spaghetti alle vongole: clams, tomato, garlic, a squeeze of lemon. It has become Canada's own cocktail, ordered at weekend brunch, poured at the cottage on long weekends and raised on Canada Day, often with a celery stick or a spicy green bean standing in the glass. It is for adults only. Note that it is not vegetarian: the clam-tomato juice is made with clam broth, and Worcestershire sauce contains anchovy. A Caesar tastes savoury before anything else, briny and tomatoey, with heat from the hot sauce, tang from lime and a salty, herbal crunch from the celery-salt rim. The common mistake is shaking it hard like a sour: the tomato juice turns frothy, pale and watery. Roll it instead, pouring it back and forth between two glasses a few times. It is ready when the drink is evenly red, ice-cold and the rim is still neatly coated. Drink responsibly; it goes down easily. No clam-tomato juice? Mix 120 ml tomato juice with 30 ml bottled clam broth. Chef's tip: add a little grated horseradish for a sharper, more peppery Caesar.
Total time
5 min
Difficulty
easy
Serves
1
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Ingredients

Serves1

For the Caesar

To serve

For the alcohol-free version

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Fresh ingredients (3)

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Method

0/6 done
  1. Step 1: Run 1 lime wedge around the rim of a tall glass and dip the rim in 1 tsp celery salt spread on a saucer. Fill the glass with 8 ice cubes.

    1 min
  2. Step 2: Pour in 3 tbsp vodka, add 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, 2 dashes hot sauce, 1 pinch black pepper and ½ tsp grated horseradish if using, then squeeze in the juice from the lime wedge.

    1 min
  3. Step 3: Top with ¾ cup clam-tomato juice, then pour the drink into a second glass and back two or three times to mix without frothing.

    1 min
  4. Step 4: Stand 1 celery stick in the glass and serve straight away.

    1 min
  5. Step 5: Alcohol-free version: rim a tall glass with 1 lime wedge and 1 tsp celery salt and fill with 8 ice cubes.

    1 min
  6. Step 6: Alcohol-free version: add ¾ cup clam-tomato juice, 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, 2 dashes hot sauce and 1 pinch black pepper, squeeze in the lime, roll between two glasses and finish with 1 celery stick.

    1 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories
130 kcal
Protein
1 g
Carbs
10 g
Fat
0 g
Fibre
1 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does caesar take?
About 5 minutes in total.
How many people does it serve?
1 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it gluten free?
Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.

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