Bloody! Caesar! II!

I was a bit surprised when two e-mails popped up yesterday about my Bloody Caesar post: one from Ed Lee from Mott’s Clamato’s PR agency and the other from Bryan Feheley telling me about Calgary's "Caesar Day."

According to an article in the Calgary Herald the Caesar is almost unknown outside Canada. I guess back in the days when I favoured hard liquor - before I moved Biblically backwards from wine to water - I only order them in Canadian bars or served them at home. Ed tells me he has hundreds of Caesar variations which he would be more than happy to share. I think I'll take him up on it, just in case my doctor changes his mind.

Both e-mails advised me of a campaign to name the Bloody Caesar Canada's official cocktail. Voting is open to residences of Canada - okay official I'm in Italy but I have a Canadian mailing address and god knows I pay Canadian taxes - and I urge all my Canadian friends to sign the petition. After all we need something more than poutine and beaver tails to call our own! Eh?

14 maggio - San Mattia apostolo

Bloody! Caesar!

Happy 40th birthday to everyone's favorite mix of vodka, tomato and clam juice. Yep 40 years ago today bartender Walter Chell created the Bloody Caesar. He was working at the Calgary Inn and came up with a variation on the popular Bloody Mary for the opening of a new restaurant. At the time Mott's had just released their clamato juice but it wasn't widely available so Walter used mashed clams in his original recipe.

I once had a chemistry professor explain to me why the order of mixing a Bloody Mary or Caeser was important; according to him it was all based on chemical reaction - ice with salt, with seasonings then the vodka to absorb the flavour and the clamato juice acted as a natural mixer.

• Ice cubes
• Salt
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• 2 Dashes Hot Sauce
• 2 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 1½ oz. Vodka
• 6 oz. Clamato Juice
• Celery salt
• Lime/Lemon wedge
• 1 Crisp CeleryStalk

Rim a high ball glass first with Lime wedge and then with celery salt. Half-fill the glass with ice cubes, add a sprinkling of salt and a grind of pepper. Then the Hot Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce. Next the vodka goes in and finally the Clamato Juice. Not need to stir or mix. Garnish with the citrus wedge and Celery stalk.

The good prof may have been pulling my leg but its the way I always made them. And they were very popular in the days when that's how everyone started a brunch.

12 maggio - Santi Nereo e Achilleo