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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Calgary
Vodka cocktail with tomato and clam juices, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, served in a tall glass with a celery salt rim, a celery stalk and lemon. It was created in Calgary in 1969 and is considered Canada’s national cocktail.
Traditional drink from Calgary, Alberta
Also known as: Bloody Caesar, Caesar cocktail
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Caesar — Calgary, Canada
The Caesar mixes vodka, clam juice and tomato juice, often already combined in a prepared drink, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and seasonings. It is served in a tall glass with ice, the rim coated in celery salt and garnished with a celery stalk, olives and lemon. The flavor is salty, mildly spicy and with a briny sea note.
According to The Canadian Encyclopedia and Alberta’s tourism authority, the cocktail was created in 1969 by Walter Chell, manager of the Calgary Inn, at the hotel’s request for the opening of an Italian restaurant. Chell took about three months to perfect the recipe and was inspired by spaghetti alle vongole, an Italian pasta with clams. The full name, Bloody Caesar, is said to have come from a remark by an English customer.
Authorship has caveats: similar cocktails of vodka with tomato and clam juices had been advertised earlier, such as the Clamdigger, sold with a prepared juice launched in the United States. Even so, it was Calgary’s Caesar that spread across Canada.
In 2009, Calgary’s mayor declared May 13 Caesar Day, marking the cocktail’s 40th anniversary. Today, National Caesar Day is celebrated on the Thursday before the Victoria Day long weekend in May. Garnishes vary widely from bar to bar, but the base remains the same.
Calgary , Alberta
Cocktail created in Calgary in 1969.
Vodka, tomato juice and clam juice (or a prepared juice that combines both), Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, seasonings; celery salt rim; celery stalk, olives and lemon.
In a tall glass with ice, the rim coated in celery salt and garnished. Drunk at weekend lunches, in bars and at parties.
All year round; National Caesar Day is in May, on the Thursday before Victoria Day.
Your questions
The Caesar includes clam juice along with tomato juice, which gives a briny sea base, and it usually has a celery salt rim. The Bloody Mary is made only with tomato juice.
In Calgary, in 1969, at the Calgary Inn, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia and Alberta tourism. The creation is attributed to Walter Chell, the hotel manager.
National Caesar Day is celebrated in May, on the Thursday before the Victoria Day long weekend.
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