Bloody Caesar Recipe
The Caesar, a classic Canadian cocktail.
How to Make a Classic Caesar at Home
The Bloody Caesar (or just Caesar for short) is a Canadian cocktail that is a cousin of the Bloody Mary. A Caesar uses clamato juice (Mott’s Clamato being the staple) instead of tomato juice and adds an element of spice to the mix to provide its trademark flavor profile.
The Caesar has a well-deserved reputation for being the ultimate morning-after hair-of-the-dog drink of choice.
What you’ll need to make a Caesar.
How to Make a Caesar
A Caesar is served in a tall glass (highball, collins or your glass of choice) and the rim of the glass is rimmed with celery salt or a commercial Caesar spice blend. It’s an important part of the overall flavor profile, so it’s best not to skip it. The Caesar is usually garnished with a cherry tomato, celery stalk and occasionally a lemon or lime wedge. Remember to add the celery stalk before the ice.
Caesar Ingredients
1-1/2 oz vodka
4 -5 oz Clamato Juice
2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
1-2 dashes of Tabasco (to taste)
a dash of salt (I use 2 turns on my salt mill)
a dash of pepper (I use 3 turns on my pepper mill)
Celery salt (for rimming the glass)
The Caesar is a stirred drink. If you're not rimming the glass with celery salt (or a commercial Caesar spice blend), you can make it right in the serving glass, over ice. However, when rimming the glass, combine the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir well. Strain into the serving glass with ice cubes and enjoy.
A note about the Celery: while flowery celery stalks may look attractive to some in photos, they are NOT great for guests, so it’s best to use a cut stalk that can actually be consumed if desired.
Note about Mott’s Clamato: while I used the Reserve Clamato in this shoot, I recommend sticking with the standard Mott’s Clamato for the best Caesar. Mott’s Clamato Reserve borders on tasteless and boring compared to their original. I don’t really get it, and you may be disappointed as you will not get the classic Caesar taste with the Mott’s Clamato Reserve.
Rim the Caesar glass with spice mix or celery salt.
The Spicy Caesar
A Spicy Caesar will sometimes be ordered by name. This is a classic and very common way to enjoy a Caesar. For the Spicy Caesar, you want to use several dashes of Tabasco sauce (or a hotter hot sauce). Some bartenders have even used fresh horseradish in Spicy Caesars, although I have not personally tried it this way.
By Mike Belobradic
Wine, Spirits and Beer Virtuoso
Grand One Lounge