Classic Caesar

Caesar - is one my favorite drinks. It's a bit salty, a bit spicy, a bit of tangy, and all kind of delicious. Not only it's a classic, it's super easy to make. Since it's Sunday and we are sort of.. past brunch hour. Let me tell you about my Caesar.

What you need:
- Clamato juice/tomato clam juice (*)
- vodka
- pepper, salt, chili powder, wedge of lemon or lime
- hot sauce
- ice cubes
- pickles, 1 carrot

Recipe:
- use the wedge the lemon/lime to rub onto the glass rim
- crush pepper, salt, chili powder into a bowl. dip the glass rim into the bowl, cover with this salt mix.
- put 2 cubes of ice into glass, pour in 1 oz of vodka
- throw in: the lemon wedge you used earlier, a few drop of hot sauce, a pinch of the salt/pepper mix into the glass
- top it up with Clamato/Ceasar mix
- toothpick skewer a pickle and drop into the drink
- cut the carrot length wise and stick it into the drink

Optional:
I used a bunch of non-traditional ingredients so you might be wondering... will it work? Yes it works! I believe good recipes do not need a specific set of ingredients that won't taste the same otherwise. I believe good recipes are customizable, fun to experiment with, and you should feel the freedom to create and play with the flavors yourself. So here are some of the "traditional" ingredients I did not have and chose to forgo:
- Worcestershire sauce - overrated. I find this to be highly optional, aka not really needed ingredient. I wouldn't be heart broken if i didn't have this - it's an unlikely ingredient in my pantry and even when I did have it I found it doesn't add that much to the flavor profile. You can completely make a nice Caesar without it.
- Celery salt. If you have it on hand, sure it's nice and easy to rim the glasses. If not, just mix coarse salt, black pepper and chili like I did for a very very similar effect.
- Celery. If you have it, great for topping or use as stir stick. If not, use a carrot like I did. It's a crunchy vegetable that absorbs the drink a bit and serves as a good add-on.

As you can see, I'm all about using substitute ingredients. The goal is use what we have and not to make a grocery trip just for it! (I feel like this is a good moment for a very important public health announcement as I'm saying this during this awful pandemic. Stay home people if you can!)

* ok I have to make a separate note about Clamato juice or tomato clam juice. I know Mott's makes this and it's readily available here in Canada. I actually had a store no-name brand "tomato clam juice" this time as a substitute. Very close in flavor too. But omg it sounds really kind of gross. Yuk, why Clam broth?? Funny enough, the calm broth is a key, KEY ingredient here. If you only had tomato juice and try to make this drink - not the same at all. Sorry, non-Canadians, you may have to mix your own tomato juice with clam broth...