Clamato: a mixture of clam juice, spices and tomato juice.

I first tasted Clamato as a child and in my family, Clamato was a drink loved by all. It was not something we drank together as a family, nor did we drink it weekly. Far from it in fact, Clamato was special, and occasionally we (my brothers and I) bought it with our spending money.

For those of you who’ve never tried Clamato, it doesn’t taste like any of its’ ingredients. It hasn’t a tomato juice, clam juice, or spicy drink flavour. But altogether, some magic happens and the taste is unique. It is slightly tomato-y, a little sweet, yet salty, and the consistency is thinner than tomato juice.

When we were younger, we liked to drink it as is from the bottle, jar or can, over ice, or in winter heated.

As we became adults, we were introduced to a cocktail made with Clamato called a Caesar or Bloody Caesar. This drink is made with Clamato, vodka, and spices. What made the Caesar different from many other cocktails was the savoury taste. Many other cocktails have a sweet taste. The Caesar is similar to the famous cocktail the Bloody Mary, but to me the Caesar is much richer in taste. Both cocktails are similar in that the recipes can be altered to everyone’s individual taste, with more Tabasco for some, more black pepper for others, or more lemon or lime juice for yet others.

I have heard that Clamato is more popular in Canada than in the United States and now that I live in Japan I’d add that it isn’t popular here, as well. I hadn’t seen Clamato in my part of Japan for many years, but recently I’ve seen it at one or two specialty stores, available in small quantities for a fee.

A few years ago, due to my younger brother, I’ve added a new method of drinking Clamato. My father loved to drink Red Eyes from time to time. A Red Eye is a mixture of beer and tomato juice. I’ve never really cared for it, but maybe my older self might appreciate the taste. My younger brother sometimes drank a variation of the Red Eye, using the same ingredients for the Caesar but using beer instead of vodka. I’d seen him drink this mixture for years without the slightest interest in ever trying it, but a few years ago my curiosity got the better of my and after he made one of these drinks (he has no name for it) I asked him if I could taste it. Wow! If you like beer and you like Clamato, then I definitely recommend this drink.

As luck would have it, my brother shipped me a bottle of Clamato this year at Christmas. I’ve been saving it because it’s difficult to buy here but recently I had a craving for Clamato and beer. It was great!

If you live in Japan and have never tried this drink, I heartily recommend it! Plain, with spices, with vodka, or with beer, you can’t go wrong with Clamato.