Apologies for the delay in blog posts. December is a busy month! I've been keeping up with my Caesars though. Kind of ... On day 7 I decided to try something a little different and ordered a Michelada to go with my fish taco at Taco Fino on Fort Street. This was the first time I'd had a Michelada which is a combo of beer, Clamato, seasonings similar to a Ceasar and lime juice. I'm pretty sure I watched the person making it throw in a shot of vodka. I got to choose the beer that went in it from two Phillips beers on tap and I went for the hoppier one, but I might choose the Blue Buck next time. The hops really stood out here. It was salty and sweet. Somewhat reminiscent of sweat. Not necessarily a bad thing. I'm going to wait until it gets hot here again and then I can see myself enjoying these during warm summer evenings. I'm back to Caesars after this. |
0 Comments
If I wanted a Caesar at a summer BBQ, I would consider bringing this. The convenience of the can is a plus. The "EXTRA SPICY" label is misleading though. There is not a lot of heat in this drink. Pairs well with leftover taco lasagna. A note on salt: I used Seasar Pleaser cocktail rimmer from Saltwest Naturals on the rim. This is my first time trying it, and it's nice. I'm not a huge celery salt lover and I like alternatives that are a little more subtle. The ingredients are simple: Canadian sea salt, certified organic celery seed, certified organic granulated garlic, certified organic onion powder. The label says the salt is harvested off the West Coast of Vancouver Island, a little investigation tells me they operate in Otter Point, just past Sooke. It's a local product. And they do tours. I'll have to head out to Otter Point soon.
and poured the Caesar mix over ice into the glasses. Because of the large number of drinks I was making, I mixed them in the individual glasses. A few notes: I seasoned them all exactly the same way, but used both of the Caesar mixes (well spiced and mildly spiced). I forgot to put a salt rim on the first seven glasses, but then my neighbour came over with some special artisinal rim salt and saved the day. (more on this salt in the next post) And then we drank them! The panel of judges was unanimously positive about their drinks. My decision to add horseradish to all of the cocktails was critiqued as overpowering in the well spiced drinks, but seemed to work with the mildly spiced drinks. A few people commented on the thickness of the mix, which is noticeably thicker than Clamato. I did a sneaky taste of Walter before my guests arrived. It has a pasta-sauce quality to it, but I think that's a good thing. By the time it's mixed with spirits, ice and other ingredients, it's cut to a perfect consistency. About halfway through our drinks, a friend pointed out I hadn't used the smoked oysters I had planned to put on the garnishes. So we dropped a couple into our glasses and drizzled in some of the sauce from the tin. GOOD CHOICE. The smoked oyster flavour was a perfect compliment. I think this will be my (not so secret) addition to my own recipe. I overdid it a bit this time, so I'll adjust the amount I add next time. There was also a lot of Mott's trash talk in the notes, so it looks like Walter is giving Clamato a run for it's money. The craft ingredients and glass containers do mean it's a more expensive product. At my local grocery store Walter is about $3.50 more expensive than a similar size of Clamato. It tastes worth it though. I would buy it. Here are the transcribed notes: "Tastes like a Caesar for sure! Restaurant quality plus." "Get outta town Mott's" "Def tastes different from regular clamato. I like it. Trying to tell the flavours apart, but I'm tasting gin and bacon and pickles. Should I chug some plain Caesar mix? And horseradish, but Liz put extra in it! Extra!" "The Walter clamato has a greater depth, especially wen paired with extra horseradish and the trio of deluxe garnishes. If Mott's came to this birthday party, he would be like, 'this isn't my mix,' but would be too embarrassed to say. Killer Caesar. Spicy, sassy and sultry. Nailed it." "COWABUNGA! I am glad I got a non-spicy version ... even this one is so flavourful! Very refreshing. We tasted pickle in there and ... horseradish? Wasabi? We obviously don't know our way around a Caesar as well as Liz but we are willing to become disciples!" "First impression: (I am using the garbage can as a table...) First impression repeated: Yum! pickle, bacon combo is delish (especially in one bite)" Thanks to everyone who took part and indulged my hobby! I guess I'll be tracking down the folks at Mott's in the near future for their response to the success of Walter.
Aaron Harowitz gave me some of his time last week to talk about his product and three bottles of Walter arrived in the mail today. So, tomorrow evening I’ll open them up and my friends and I can test out some Caesar recipes.
In the meantime, here is some of the conversation I had with Mr. Harowitz: HC: What made you want to develop an alternative to Clamato? AH: My partner Zack [Silverman] and I are old friends. We grew up together in BC. We put ourselves through university tending bar and serving tables. We realized there wasn’t an alternative to what’s currently on the market. The majority of Caesars are made with MSG and high fructose corn syrup, artificial colour, artificial flavour. Zack and I care a lot about the food that we eat and drink. We thought that Canada’s cocktail deserved a product made with all-natural ingredients. HC: How did that realization come about? AH: We had a friend who ordered a Caesar, but ordered it with tomato juice. We asked why and they said “have you ever checked out the ingredients that are in most of the Caesar mix in the market?” We realized we could provide Canadians an alternative. HC: What’s different in Walter? AH: We’re really proud to use natural ingredients. We use tomatoes. We use organic cane sugar and a little bit of sea salt. We use grated horseradish. We use some hot sauce and Worcestershire Sauce and we’re really proud to use real clam juice from a sustainable fishery. And we’re part of the Vancouver Aquarium Oceanwise program, so it’s an Oceanwise product. HC: Tell me a bit about your participation in Oceanwise… AH: It’s run by the Vancouver Aquarium. It’s just over 10 years old now. It started in part because a pretty famous Vancouver chef had a seafood restaurant and wanted to know more about the products he was serving. The Vancouver Aquarium through their Oceanwise program basically works to ensure that products or seafood that get the Oceanwise seal are fished or farmed in a sustainable way. For us, it was a product we’d always seen. Many of the bars and restaurants we worked at we’re part of the Oceanwise program. One of the big things that differs a Caesar from a Bloody Mary is the fact that it actually does have clam juice or clam nectar in the product. When we were making the product it was always important to us to find a fishery that has sustainable fisheries practices in place. So we worked with the Vancouver Aquarium to go through a vetting process to make sure that the clam juice that we were using was in fact fished with sustainable practices in place. HC: There’s a real community around craft brewing. Are you guys a part of that? Are you friends with the beer people or do you have your own Caesar crowd? AH: We certainly know a lot of craft-brewers and craft-distillers and people making all kinds of artisanal products. Were often involved in consumer shows with those people. We often partner up with a craft distiller to do events together. We think there’s a great community of people making artisanal products, really caring about the ingredients that they’re using in their products and making it in ways that ensure consistency and quality. We’re really proud to have a product that falls into that space. Other artisanal producers, whether it be a brewery or distiller or people making tonics or syrups or jams, it’s tremendously supportive. HC: You talk about mixing wine with Walter on your website … AH: It’s a really interesting execution. A bartender friend of ours introduced us to it. It’s not a replacement for other spirits. It’s just an addition. If you’re making a classic vodka Caesar – a one ounce spirit cocktail – you could use three-quarters vodka and then a one-quarter oz red wine; a little splash of red wine. What it does is add a nice earthy, winey taste to the cocktail. If you think about making a lot of classic tomato sauces or ragus, often red wine is a component of that, so it ties in that way. HC: You also talk about mixing beer with your product … AH: A lot of people add a little splash of Clamato, or in our case, Walter to their beer. A lot of people call it a Red Eye or a Beer and Walt is what we like to call it. But then there’s also a really interesting beer cocktail called a Michelada that originates in Mexico and that’s a little more like a true beer Caesar. Instead of having a pint of beer with a splash of Walter, what that would be is making a proper cocktail with three-quarters beer to a quarter Walter proportions. And serving it over ice with hot sauce and a rim and the whole deal. The Walter tasting event will take place Tuesday Evening. Check back on Wednesday for updated blog posts on the fifth and sixth days of the 12 Days of Caesars. Every December my family gathers at the Crow & Gate pub in Cedar for a holiday lunch. Some of us drive up from Victoria, some drive down from the Comox Valley, others come over from the mainland and a few live close by in Nanaimo. The beautiful little pub is nestled into the farms and forests just south of Nanaimo, and our family tradition has left its mark on the place. In fact, there's a commemorative plaque above the large fireplace.
My Caesar tasted extra good when we finally arrived and I could order. It was nicely seasoned and quite sweet. The garnish was a wedge of lime and four pickled asparagus stalks. Simple, generous and tasty.
I was catching up with people and chatting, so I didn't take many notes on this cocktail. It was satisfying and something tasty to sip while I spent an afternoon with a small, happy group of my very large family.
The drink was delicious. There were chipotle elements to the flavour and it was served over a lot of small ice cubes, which for some reason I've been noticing lately. Is it crazy to think that many small ice cubes in a Caesar is better than larger cubes? Then call me crazy.
This was a pretty tasty Caesar. I like where the rim is headed, but I think they should go all out with it, ditch the celery salt and go for a lemony, peppery, chili, coarse salt combo. It was a good way to start an afternoon of storm watching.
About halfway through this drink I remembered I'd come to Ferris' specifically for their seafood Caesar, which I promptly ordered. This one arrived with equal fanfare. Ferris' garnish game is strong. In the seafood version the garnish is an oyster in the shell, a prawn, bean and celery stick. The drink itself if exactly the same as the ribs version.
This is a detail Ferris' could finesse to push its Caesars to the next level. Adding something to the cocktail itself to tie the garnish to the drink would give them a little more impact. For instance, I might ask for a little horseradish in my seafood Caesar the next time I get one here. Other than that I really enjoyed these Caesars. I like the idea that they are using the classic recipe as a vehicle for satisfying garnishes and I think these are fun versions of this cocktail. It was a great way to kick off the 12 Days of Caesars!
If you have recommendations, please let me know in the comments below. Stay glued to this blog. You can start refreshing the page on December 11.
Cheers! I have found the Beyonce of Caesars. I didn't even realize I was looking for it, but after the scales had fallen from my eyes with the help of the bartender at Smiths Pub, my heart and mind were ready to accept the truth of the Fish Hook Caesar. Can I get a witness? Can I get an AMEN? OH, DO I SEEM A LITTLE OVER THE TOP? DO I SEEM LIKE I'M CONFLATING MY DRINKING HOBBY WITH A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE? I'll forgive you for thinking that because you don't know, CAN'T KNOW, until you've sipped it. Feast your eyes on this for a moment. Just drink it in (figuratively) for a second before I lay it all on you. What are we even looking at here?
Garnish: lime, whole peeled carrot, radish, carrot medallion, UH, SHRIMP. Rim: celery salt (or is it? IT'S NOT) Liquid: standard Caesar? NO! Alright. So I thought "fancy" when it was placed in front of me, but didn't think about it too much. Then I had a sip. it had a prawn cocktail vibe with a more complex spice profile. I licked the rim, "oh whaaat? What is that? Cumin?" It looks like celery salt, but it has Masala spices in it. It's not spicy-hot at all, but the flavour overall is light and bouncy and very refreshing. The (rough) recipe posted on their chalkboard describes it as: Masala spiced rim, house "prawnato," Merridale Gin, shrimp garnish. So not only is this drink off the charts flavour-wise, they also make their own Clamato, with prawns, and they call it "Prawnato." They use Merridale Gin, which I haven't taste tested on it's own, but it works so well in this drink. All the elements of this drink are crafted with care and then perfectly blended. Is weeping with joy while drinking alone in a public place a faux pas? Who cares. I'll keep blogging, but this is the one to beat. This is the heavy weight champion of the Victoria Caesar world. (Oh, also I had the Fish meatballs dish with my drink and it was extremely tasty too. It's worth mentioning that they serve some of my favourite food in Victoria.)
|
AuthorI live in Victoria, BC and I love Caesars, which are the sole focus of this blog. Archive
December 2016
Categories |