Bloody Caesar Cocktail Recipe

A favorite drink in Canada, where it’s the national cocktail, the Bloody Caesar, or the Caesar, as it’s known to Canucks, combines vodka, Clamato juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce, and is typically served with a celery stalk and lime wedge in a celery salt-rimmed highball glass. The addition of Clamato — a product that combines clam broth, tomato juice, sugar, and spices — is the primary differentiator between a Caesar and a traditional Bloody Mary. 

Clam broth has been used in Bloody Mary variations since the midcentury. One of the earliest published references to a bivalve-inspired riff appeared in Ted Saucier’s 1951 cocktail book Bottoms Up, where the drink was called Bloody Mary à la Milo. It wasn’t until nearly two decades later, however, that the recipe and name, Bloody Caesar, really took off.

In 1969, while working at Alberta’s Calgary Inn, bartender Walter Chell was asked to create a signature drink for the opening of the hotel’s new restaurant, Marco’s Italian. Supposedly inspired by his favorite Italian dish, spaghetti alle vongole, Chell tinkered extensively with clam broth, tomato juice, vodka, and seasonings, and applied guest feedback to inform the result. Three months later, he landed on a recipe. 

The Caesar went on to become Canada’s most popular cocktail, and in 2009, the drink was officially declared the national cocktail of Canada.

Why the Bloody Caesar works

As the most famous savory cocktail, the Bloody Mary is a favorite to tweak with various brines, ferments, tangy vinegars, and hot sauces. A touch of seafood was included in the earliest renditions of the recipe. While the initial Bloody Mary build in the 1920s was simply vodka and canned tomato juice, by the ’30s, at New York City’s King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel, the recipe became decidedly more involved. 

Worcestershire sauce, a complex blend of vinegar, fermented anchovies, molasses, and seasonings, was a vital ingredient early on. The balance of sweet and savory, spicy and tangy, has been a marker of the cocktail ever since. 

Clam juice transforms a Bloody Mary into a Bloody Caesar and adds a specific umami quality. The increased complexity and unique flavor of the clam broth (from the Clamato juice) provide a layer of savory richness that works well with the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. The celery salt rim used to garnish the glass adds an herbal zest and enhances the cocktail’s briny profile.