Recipe

November 4, 2022

Double-Double Caesar

Recipe: Lauren Mote

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Area of inspiration: Crowsnest Highway (Hwy 5), British Columbia

Inspired by: The Caesar

“For this ultra-Canadian drink, I wanted to bring together two of Canada’s most beloved favorites: a Tim Hortons double-double and my diner favorite, the mighty Caesar. Both have been essential parts of road trips, sweet summer memories, and lazy Sundays. There’s no coffee in this drink (that would be weird), but the sentiment is there. So in this homage to Canada’s other iconic drink, the Caesar, I’ve taken part of my standard Tims order and incorporated it here with the Bagel Shrub and Everything Bagel Spice. Most people outside Canada cannot understand why you’d drink a Caesar (which is made of tomato juice, clam juice, and spices), while most people in Canada think making one involves opening a bottle of premix and dumping it into a glass with three cubes of ice, herbs, and vodka. But like any great cocktail, it’s the ritual of how you make it, how you garnish it, and how the guest receives the drink that matters. To be honest, it’s a difficult cocktail to mess up. So without further ado, here is my ode to Canada’s quintessential drinks—the Double-Double Caesar.” – Lauren Mote

Ingredients

Denman Street Caesar Mix (makes 1.25 L)

  • 1 can (28 ounces/796 mL) peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes
  • 1 small dried ancho chili (Note: If you’re sensitive to chili heat, omit the ancho pepper. If using it, make sure you wear a glove to handle it, and keep your hands away from your eyes.)
  • 100 grams carrot, chopped
  • 100 grams unpeeled cucumber, chopped
  • 100 grams celery, chopped
  • 2 grams kosher salt
  • 2 grams freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 gram yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 gram fenugreek seeds
  • 1 gram ground sumac
  • 1 gram smoked paprika (mild or hot)
  • 2 ounces (60 mL) fresh lemon juice
  • ½ ounce (15 mL) Simple Syrup
  • ⅓ ounce (10 mL) soy sauce (preferably white)

Bagel Shrub

  • Makes 12 ounces (375 mL)
  • ½ ounce (15 mL) olive oil 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 5 grams sesame seeds 5 grams poppy seeds
  • 1 gram salt
  • 1 gram freshly cracked black pepper
  • 15 grams plain bagel, toasted and chopped into pieces
  • 8 ounces (250 mL) cane vinegar
  • 4 ounces (125 mL) filtered water
  • 2 ounces (60 mL) fresh lemon juice
  • 1 ounce (30 mL) Simple Syrup

Double-Double Caesar

  • 1½ ounces (45 mL) vodka
  • 6 ounces (175 mL) Denman Street Caesar Mix (see above)
  • ¼ ounce (7.5 mL) Bagel Shrub (see above)
  • 3 dashes aromatic bitters
  • (like Bittered Sling Kensington)
  • 2 dashes Tabasco sauce (optional)
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • Pinch cracked black pepper

Rim and Garnish: Lemon juice and Everything Bagel Spice; double-toasted bagel cracker, cream cheese, black pepper, poppy seeds, sesame seeds

Directions

Yield: Serves 1

Make Denman Street Caesar Mix

  1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on medium- high for 30 seconds or until smooth. Strain through a mesh strainer to catch any remaining big pieces.
  2. Clean the strainer and repeat if necessary. Store in a sanitized bottle, labeled with the date, in the fridge for up to 10 days. Shake or stir before using.

Make Bagel Shrub

  1. In a small saucepan, heat the oil over low heat. Add the bay leaves, garlic, shallot, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until aromatic. Add the bagel, vinegar, water, lemon, and syrup, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid through a mesh sieve, then through cheesecloth to microfilter. Store in a sanitized bottle, labeled with the date, in the fridge for up to 10 days.

Make Double-Double Caesar

  1. Rim a Collins glass with lemon juice and Every- thing Bagel Spice and set aside. To a shaker filled with cubed ice, add the vodka, Caesar mix, shrub, bitters, Tabasco sauce (if using), salt, and pepper. Place a Hawthorne strainer over the shaker and strain into an empty shaker.
  2. Strain back into the shaker with the ice. Transferring the cocktail back and forth allows the drink to chill in one shaker, while the other shaker mixes it without too much dilution or aeration. Do this for about 15 seconds. Strain one last time into the prepared Collins glass and top with cubed ice.
  3. For the garnish, spread the cracker with cream cheese and top with black pepper, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds.
Author: Alexandra Whyte
Photographer:

Jonathan Chovancek

Source:

Excerpted from A Bartender’s Guide to the World: Cocktails and Stories from 75 Places by Lauren Mote and James O. Fraioli. Copyright © 2022 Lauren Mote and James O. Fraioli. Cover and book design by Terri Nimmo. Cover and book photography by Jonathan Chovancek. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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