Ted Saucier credits the recipe to Milo J. This pre-dates the version at the Polonaise nightclub in Manhattan by clamato bloody mary least 2-3 years. The original cocktail of vodka with seasoned tomato and clam juice made its debut at the Polonaise nightclub in Manhattan in November 1953.

The drink was introduced as the “Smirnoff Smiler” by owner Paul Pawlowski. In 1962, Carl La Marca, bar manager at the Baker Hotel in Dallas, invented the “Imperial Clam Digger”, adding a basil garnish and dash of lime to an existing version of the “Smirnoff Smiler”, called the “Clam Digger”. Clamdigger” earlier in 1968, in Manhattan. Seagram, headquartered 2 blocks from the Polonaise nightclub, filed a trademark application on the name “Clamdigger” claiming first use on May 31, 1968. Chell said his inspiration came from Italy.

He recalled that in Venice, they served Spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with tomato sauce and clams. He reasoned that the mixture of clams and tomato sauce would make a good drink, and mashed clams to form a “nectar” that he mixed with other ingredients. According to Chell’s granddaughter, his Italian ancestry led him to call the drink a “Caesar”. The longer name of “Bloody Caesar” is said to differentiate the drink from the Bloody Mary, but Chell said it was a regular patron at the bar who served as the inspiration.

During the three months he spent working to perfect the drink, he had customers sample it and offer feedback. Chell said the drink was an immediate hit with the restaurant’s patrons, claiming it “took off like a rocket”. Within five years of its introduction, the Caesar had become Calgary’s most popular mixed drink. It spread throughout Western Canada, then to the east. The Mott’s company was independently developing Clamato, a mixture of clam and tomato juices, at the same time the Caesar was invented. Elsewhere, bartenders will frequently offer a Bloody Mary in its place. While Mott’s Clamato continues to be synonymous with the cocktail, other producers have begun offering alternative Caesar mixes.