In 1969 the city of Calgary, Alberta was changed forever by a man named Walter Chell. Walter was opening an italian restaurant in the city and wanted to celebrate with one of his own creations, the Caesar.
The Great Caesar
The Caesar or Bloody Caesar is a cocktail that is very well-known in Canada and pretty elusive everywhere else. A perfect combination of vodka, Clamato, hot sauce, and worcestershire sauce is served on ice in a celery salt rimmed glass with a lime wedge.
Nothing like a cocktail in a cowboy boot
Kenin and I consumed our weight in Caesars while visiting Calgary and every bartender took pleasure (and pride) in telling us about the drinks origin in their town.
Yes, that is bacon peeking out of my drink
Caesars came garnished with cooked bacon strips, pepperoni sticks, celery, olives, pickled green beans, and everything else under the sun. If you could dunk it in the thick tomato/vodka heaven that is a Caesar, then you could use it as garnish. Some were plain and simple and others looked like an appetizer tray in a glass.
Caesar with pickled green beans
The possibilities for recipes and garnishes were different at every restaurant or bar that we visited. It was such a simple base for a drink, but once you started to play with seasonings and garnishes, the recipes became complex and the presentations were amazing.
Here is a simple recipe for a delicious Caesar. Once you like the basic, start playing with different seasonings. I can’t think of a better way to get my daily serving of vegetables.
Recipe for a perfect Caesar:
- celery salt rimmed glass
- 6oz clam-tomato juice
- 2 shakes Worcestershire sauce
- 2 shakes Tabasco sauce
- salt
- pepper
- 1 celery stalk, leaves attached
- 1 lime wedge
- 1 Pepperoni Stick ( technically optional but mandatory for me)
