Fifteen of the city’s most insane caesars
Fifteen of the city’s most insane caesars
By Caroline Aksich |
By Caroline Aksich |

Every good Canadian worth his or her celery salt knows that the sodium-packed caesar is our national cocktail, and this year the Bloody Mary’s clammy cousin turns 46. While it may have been born in Calgary, the drink is being perfected right here in Hogtown: Tabasco is swapped out for homemade hot sauces, and crushed tortillas, powdered seaweed and candied bacon rim our mugs. Maybe the caesar is having its mid-life crisis, but if that means topping one with fried chicken or an entire Peking duck, then it’s something we can definitely get behind. Here, 15 of the city’s caesars, ranked from traditional to over-the-top.
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- <strong>Jacob's Steakhouse</strong> doesn’t have a patio, but you can always cozy up at the piano bar. Here, a poached jumbo shrimp bedecks a pilsner glass filled with Walter’s mix, fresh horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and Absolut vodka ($18).<br />
- (Image: Caroline Aksich)
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- <strong>Barque</strong> lifts its caesar out of the ordinary by rimming the glass with pork product. Bacon is smoked for two hours before being candied in brown sugar simple syrup. After the bacon is dehydrated (a 24-hour process), it's macerated with chipotle powder and celery salt. A house-pickled asparagus spear replaces the anaemic celery stalk ($10).
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- 1200
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- Unsurprisingly, <strong>Rock Lobster</strong>'s caesar features—you guessed it—lobster! Half a tail of the tasty crustacean graces this otherwise traditional Caesar ($12).
- (Image: Renée Suen)
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- 800
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- <strong>Auberge du Pommier</strong> classes up its hair-of-the-dog hangover cure by floating an ounce of Bordeaux atop a combo of Walter's mix and Provençal herb–infused vodka ($14).
- (Image: Cindy La)
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- <strong>Mata'</strong>s take is an homage to Brazilian churrasco (there’s steak sauce in the mix and the glass is rimmed with steak spice). Imported malagueta peppers perk up a molasses-tinged hot sauce, and vodka is swapped out for two ounces of cachaça (a sugar cane–based spirit) to give the drink a sweet earthiness. For garnish: a curl of chicharrón ($12).
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- At Ossington's <strong>Crooked Star</strong>, there's a glut of globally inspired caesars, including Korean, Jamaican, Japanese and French variations. Our favourite is the India-inspired take that comes laced with tandoori paste ($7.50).<br />
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- 1200
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- <strong>Lil' Baci</strong> injects a bit of Italian flare into the drink that shares its name with a Roman emperor. A pinch of bruised rosemary is stirred into the mix, which is topped with crispy pancetta. Instead of celery salt, the glass is dipped in steak sauce and then dredged with steak spice. A splash of Laphroaig whisky adds some smoke ($11).
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- 1200
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- <strong>Ceili Cottage'</strong>s cocktail has a deeper hue than most, thanks to an added pinch of dark purple dulse (that's seaweed), which is also used to rim the glass. Brine from a freshly shucked littleneck clam is poured into the Smirnoff-spiked drink which is then garnished with a skewered clam ($10).
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- 800
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- <strong>Cardinal Rule'</strong>s Dill-icious Caesar mixes gin or vodka with an ounce of pickle brine, house scotch bonnet and Worcestershire sauces, horseradish and good ol' Clamato juice. The pint is topped with a deep-fried pickle spear and a dollop of relish. The bar can also tweak the drink to suit both celiacs and vegans ($12).
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- 800
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- There’s a lot of prep that goes into <strong>R&D'</strong>s 510 Caesar. Before ice hits the glass, Absolut vodka is infused with black garlic, black truffles and shiitake mushrooms. A smoky lapsang souchong tea tincture is also prepared in advance. Then, in a glass rimmed with seaweed-flecked salt, Clamato juice is mixed with the infused vodka, chili sauce, hoisin-spiked Worcestershire and a few drops of the tea tincture. A hollow pepperette makes for an ingenious straw ($14).
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- 1200
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- The potable part of <strong>Dundas and Carlaw'</strong>s drink is by the book, but the mug is rimmed with Doritos (a mix of Cool Ranch and Sweet Chili Heat), then topped with a stew’s worth of pickled veggies and a pepperette. The pucker-inducing crown includes green beans, jalapeno slices, a garlic clove, celery, a bay leaf and (not to be outdone by the other tart crudités) a dill pickle ($14.50).
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- 1200
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- <strong>Rose and Sons</strong> forgoes Clamato in favour of Walter's, and to the mix they add a splash of pickle juice, grated horseradish, an ounce and a half of Stoli vodka, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. The glass is rimmed with duck salt (juniper, bay leaf, pepperoncino, thyme, kosher salt) and garnished with a kabanos sausage and half of a giant sour pickle ($13).
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- 1200
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- Sticking out of <strong>Hunter's Landing'</strong>s mug: a butter-poached Cuban lobster tail, a slice of cheese pizza, a hunk of house-made chorizo, two slices of cherry wood–smoked mozzarella, a rasher of bacon and enough veggies to make a salad. ($16).
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- 1200
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- <strong>Harlem'</strong>s architecturally unstable cocktail is a foot and a half tall. The Bloody Jerk starts with a mix of Clamato, jerk spice, Worcestershire, mango scotch bonnet sauce, jerk bitters and three ounces of Skyy vodka. The jar is rimmed with jerk spice and celery salt and then garnished—but can it still be called a garnish if it’s a full meal?—with chicken and waffles. It's all topped with fried okra and a deep-fried pickle, just because ($19.50).
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- Inside this Chinatown-purchased Peking duck is a bottle of the most Canadian caesar on our list. <strong>Rush Lane'</strong>s bartender starts in the lab by infusing Tito’s vodka with a collection of sample soils from across Canada (there’s dirt from PEI potatoes, a pinch of mud from High Park, some silt from Newfoundland and even a sample from the Yukon). The Clamato gets zest appeal from freshly juiced ginger and cilantro, some heat from Sriracha, and a hit of umami from hoisin sauce. We'll forgive them for not rimming the glass. Must be ordered 24 hours in advance ($100).
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nero was the most insane, am i right?