Spiking a vodka and tomato juice with clam juice is alcoholic drink bliss for Caesar-swilling Canucks, but the combination in this oh-so-Canadian cocktail wasn’t so evident. In fact, according to Alberta researchers, it took months for Calgary bartender as well as Caesar inventor Walter Chell to hit the excellent proportions.

What is Mixology?

A mixologist at the Calgary Inn before mixologist was a title, Walter was charged with producing an alcoholic drink. This was to commemorate the 1969 opening of the Inn’s new dining establishment, Marco’s Italian. Inspired by his favorite Italian meal, spaghetti vongole, Chell laid out to develop a mixed drink that would certainly catch the pasta’s hearty clam and tomato flavours.

Eventually he thought of the recipe Canadians have actually enjoyed: vodka mixed with clam-infused tomato juice, lime, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, with a scrumptious celery salt edge. If we’re being truthful (and also after a couple of Caesars, who can’t?), the thought of a clam-based mixed drink is a little strange – even for those of us who understand just how good it is.

But surprisingly, Walter Chell had not been the first ahead up with the concept. As Michael Platt keeps in mind in an article for the Calgary Sunlight. This 1900 duplicate of Modern American Drinks includes a dish for a clam juice alcoholic drink, as does a 1951 Betty Crocker recipe book. “So then what did Calgary’s precious papa of the Caesar actually do?” asks Platt. “That’s like asking what Henry Ford provided for the electric motor vehicle or The Beatles did for music.”

Going global

Basically, Chell refined the recipe, taking it from clammy outlier to a red warm hit. Soon after, Mott’s drink business released what is probably the world’s best-known clam-infused tomato juice, Clamato.

Chell designed the Caesar, yet extensive circulation of Clamato brought it to residences and also bars across the country. According to an Ipsos-Reid survey appointed by the company in 2009, the Caesar or Bloody Caesar, is the most preferred cocktail in Canada. Mott’s price quotes that more than 350 million are taken in each year.

However past the occasional American short article applauding the “Canadian Bloody Mary,” Chell’s blend of pleasant, salty, sour, zesty and bitter notes hasn’t gotten much love past our boundaries. Never mind – here, it’s not only a resource of pride. It’s a symbol of Canada’s transforming population analysis and Canadians’ broadening tastes.

Let’s get creative with our Caesar

Modern variations show international impacts, substituting or improving British Worcestershire sauce with horseradish, wasabi, kimchi, chipotle, sriracha, teriyaki, tandoori, jerk seasoning, Dijon mustard or any number of flavours. A staple at Canada Day celebrations and also weekend breakfasts. A beverage as red as our flag, the Caesar is a mixed drink that can rightly declare that it came, and also it dominated Canada.