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The Caesar
The caesar, for many Albertans, is a truly Canadian cocktail. Also known
as the bloody caesar, the beverage is similar to the bloody mary in that
both use tomato juice, vodka and worcestershire sauce. While not a
technological innovation, the caesar represents Albertas foothold in
great achievements in the history of the food and drinkit was invented by
Walter Chell, a bartender in Calgary in the late 1960s.
Clams, for the uninitiated, are a necessary component to the caesar as a
flavouring for the tomato juice. Why did Chell think of clams? Chell wanted to make a drink that could compete with the
tomatoes, spices and seafood, featured ingredients from his restaurant's
Italian menu. Spaghetti Vongele,
spaghetti with clams, in particular, seemed to have many of the desired
qualities. After months of trial and error, Chell crushed clams into a
"nectar" that he then mixed with tomato juice. He added spice, and
worcestershire sauce for sweetness. Keeping with the Italian theme, Chell
also seasoned with the drink with oregano. The resulting drink , it was
deemed, was fit for the Roman emperor, hence the name.
Today, a thirsty Canadian can walk to the nearest corner store and expect
to find a tomato-clam juice blend sitting on the shelf. However, in the
late 1960s, tomato-clam did not exist, and Walter Chell, in his quest for
a new drink had to get his "clam nectar" from the source. Around the same
time, Motts® , a juice company in California, began producing a
clam-tomato beverage, or Clamato juice. The company hired Chell to advise
on the beverage's production and the juice became the choice of for
tomato-clam mixers.
While Chell was the inventor of the caesar, Motts deserves credit for the
popularization of the drink itself. This is an example the symbiosis
between an independent inventor and corporate marketing prowess. Motts
made the caesar a favourite cocktail and Chell's creation had a profound
effect on the companys profits in Canada. According to a telephone survey
conducted by Ispos-Reid in early 2003, more than 310 million caesars were
served in Canada in the previous year. This makes it the single most
popular cocktail in the country.
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