Virgin Caesar Recipe

Before you start

The Caesar is Canada's answer to the Bloody Mary, and its defining ingredient is clamato, a tomato juice blended with clam broth. The clam adds a briny, rounded savoriness that plain tomato cannot match, which is why the drink still tastes complete when the vodka is left out. Lime, not lemon, is the usual acid, and the celery salt rim is non-negotiable for most fans.

Because clamato is already seasoned, go easy at first. Build the drink right in the glass, stir rather than shake, and check the salt before adding more. Without the spirit, a splash of pickle brine or a little extra lime keeps the drink from tasting like a cup of soup.

Ingredients

• 180 ml (6 oz) clamato or other tomato-clam juice — well chilled
• 15 ml (½ oz) fresh lime juice
• 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 2 dashes hot sauce
• 10 ml (2 tsp) dill pickle brine — optional
• 2 grinds black pepper
• 1 lime wedge — for the rim
• 1 tbsp celery salt — for the rim
• 1 celery stalk — plus a lime wedge or pickled bean to garnish

Method

1. Wipe the lime wedge around the rim of a highball glass and roll the outside edge through celery salt spread on a small plate. A clean, even band looks best and tastes less salty than a heavy crust.
2. Fill the glass to the top with ice. A full glass keeps the drink cold without watering it down quickly.
3. Add the lime juice, Worcestershire, hot sauce, pickle brine if using, and pepper directly over the ice.
4. Pour in the clamato and stir with a bar spoon for about 10 seconds, lifting from the bottom so the seasonings mix through rather than sitting at the base.
5. Taste with a straw. Add a dash more hot sauce or a squeeze of lime if you want more lift; clamato usually carries enough salt already.
6. Garnish with the celery stalk and a lime wedge or a pickled green bean. Serve at once.

Tips for success

• Chill the clamato bottle overnight. Starting cold means the ice melts less and the drink stays thick.
• Add a few drops of horseradish if you like heat that hits the nose rather than the tongue.
• Keep the rim salt on the outside of the glass only, so each sip picks up a little rather than the whole drink turning salty.

Substitutions

Clamato

Mix 150 ml tomato juice with 30 ml bottled clam juice. It tastes cleaner and less sweet than commercial clamato, so you may want a pinch of sugar.

Celery salt rim

Steak spice or a mix of celery salt and smoked paprika gives a bolder rim. Plain flaky salt works but loses the herbal note.

Lime juice

Lemon is softer and less sharp. It works, but the drink tastes closer to a Virgin Mary.

Variations

Spicy pickle Caesar

Double the pickle brine, use a habanero hot sauce, and garnish with a pickle spear and a pickled jalapeño.

Big brunch garnish

Add a skewer of olives, pickled asparagus and a cooked shrimp. Keep any shrimp cold and serve within 2 hours.

Troubleshooting

The drink tastes too salty

Clamato, rim salt, Worcestershire and brine all bring salt. Skip the brine, use a thinner rim and add an extra 5 ml lime to balance.

Seasonings sit at the bottom

Stir longer and lift the spoon up through the ice, or give the drink a quick stir again just before serving.

The rim falls into the drink

Use only a little lime juice to moisten the rim and keep it to the outer edge. Too much juice makes the salt slide down.

Storage

Make and serve each drink to order. Refrigerate opened clamato and use it within the time on the label, usually about a week. Garnishes with cooked seafood or meat are perishable and should not sit out more than 2 hours.

Safety notes

Clamato contains clam (shellfish), and Worcestershire sauce usually contains anchovy (fish). Do not serve this drink to anyone with a shellfish or fish allergy.