Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Hail Caesar!

I spent most of the week visiting friends and avoiding the cold in Florida, visiting friends, and staying with Boris. Given we were ringing in the New Year down here, I thought this week would be a good one to finally answer Balls’ request of making and trying Caesars that were featured in Letterkenny. Having never made a Caesar before, I was interested in trying them, and was able to find a recipe card someone posted for easy reference. In order to actually consume three of these, I decided to making one of each, and split them between me and Boris.

Caesar #1:

Half Clamato, Half V8

Booze: 3 oz. Beefeater (Gordon’s) gin

Rimmer: Soy sauce, Celery salt, Lemon Pepper

Boosters: Horseradish, Lemon Juice

Garnish: Jumbo cocktail shrimp, Dungeness crab leg, PEI Oyster

A couple notes up front. I swapped the Beefeater for Gordon’s as that’s what Boris had in his bar. I also couldn’t find Piri Piri, so I added a touch of sriracha hot sauce. Also, no garnishes for this one since there is a shellfish allergy in the house so I decided against bringing in any known allergens into the equation.

Well that is interesting for my first Caesar. It smells spicy and smoky, the latter from the sriracha no doubt. It is definitely lacking something for sure. But I don’t know if crustaceans and bivalves could make up the difference here. The gin adds an….interesting flavor. I wouldn’t have thought to use gin myself. I think I prefer vodka in these kind of cocktails.

Boris: Not my fav.

Me: It’s definitely lacking something

Boris: Yeah, it’s called Bloody Mary mix.

Caesar #2

Base: Half clamato, Half tomato

Booze: 3 oz. vodka

Rimmer: Lime, dusting of celery salt, Montreal chicken spice

Boosters: Frank’s Red Hot, 10 dashes Worcestershire, shot of dill pickler juice

Garnishes: One dill pickler, one pickled pepper, one pickled egg

No pickled egg here, as those were not on hand, and have no idea where I’d find one, and frankly not sure I’d go with an off the shelf pickled egg anyway.

This one is MUCH better. The Worcestershire is the key addition here. Personally, I think Worcestershire is required in a Bloody Mary type drink. The pickle juice is something I wouldn’t have thought to add, and it works. The brine is dry and plays well with the subtle brininess the clamato brings to the table.

Boris: Oh yeah! Much better

Caesar #3:

Base: 100% Clamato

Booze: 3 oz. vodka

Rimmer: Lime, dusting of celery salt, Montreal steak spice

Boosters: Tabasco, Worcestershire, shot of dill pickler juice

Garnishes: Celery stick, dill pickle, slim jim

Sorry for the lack of slim jims, neither one of us are a fan of them so we passed on them. This one is good, but doesn’t compare to the second one. Ingredients wise, the previous one and this are are very similar, but the minor differences make the biggest difference. The lack of V8 or tomato juice is a huge factor. This is lighter in color, but also taste as it needs the split base to really be effective.

Boris: Yeah, #2 is definitely the best one of the bunch.

I’m skipping making #4 because it involves moonshine as a main ingredient, and I imagine that is harder to find, even in Florida. Also, that after three of these, we decided we need a break from these.

For my first attempt at Caesars, I think they were pretty good. The second recipe is definitely the favorite one that was made. I still think I might prefer a regular Bloody though.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)