Canadian icon Ryan Reynolds has his own recipe for the classic Canadian cocktail, the Caesar, and we tried it so you don't have to!
Caesar Country is a recipe book by the co-founders of Walter Craft Caesar that was released on June 7, 2022, with contributions from some of Canada's best-known bartenders, chefs and celebrities including Reynolds.
Reynolds shared his very own recipe for what he calls "The Crescent Caesar" and his personal relationship with the iconic drink.
"To me, the taste of a Caesar is the taste of home," the Vancouver-born celeb shared. "It's the quintessential Canadian cocktail and one of the first drinks I ever had. We lived on Crescent Drive, hence the name. My recipe is a Caesar Gin Martini, made dirty."
To make Reynolds' Caesar drink, pour 75 millimetres of Aviation gin, 15 millimetres of dry white vermouth, 15 millimetres of mild Caesar mix, 7.5 millimetres of finely strained lemon juice and one teaspoon of olive brine into a cocktail shaker.
You then fill the shaker with ice, give everything a good stir with a bar spoon, and strain it into a chilled glass to serve once the outside of the shaker is cold.
For garnish, a lemon peel and a few olives complete the cocktail.
Now, here's what the two of us — a Caesar lover and a Caesar hater — think about Reynolds' Caesar Gin Martini!
Sarah's review — a Caesar lover
Sarah's Caesar.Sarah Rohoman | Narcity
I love Caesars, dirty martinis, gin and Ryan Reynolds, so I really thought I was going to enjoy this little taste test, but I was very, very wrong.
After putting it together and taking a sip, I quickly realized "this ain't it," as the kids would say.
It's aggressively alcohol-forward, which is typical for a martini-inspired drink, but it's to the point that you can't really taste any of the other ingredients, which is almost impressive given how strong a flavour both lemon juice and olive brine have.
I couldn't bring myself to finish it, but I hate waste so I doctored it a bit to suit my preferences by adding more Caeser mix, 13 dashes of Tabasco, more olive brine and then transferred everything into a tall glass with some ice. So much better!
I am aware that you're supposed to use green olives in a Caesar and not black but the green kind are weird and I will never change my mind about that.
Lisa's review — a Caesar hater
Lisa's Caesar.Lisa Belmonte | Narcity
As a steadfast Caesar hater, I was pretty certain that I wouldn't like this drink even though it's a version that seems to be less offensive to the taste buds since it's more like a martini with a dash of Caesar flavour than a full-on Caesar.
Once I finished making it and topped it with the lemon peel garnish and olives, I was surprised that it looked quite nice so I thought maybe I wouldn't hate it so much.
However, I was sorely mistaken.
The smell was not good, I blame the Caesar mix and olive brine. Then, the taste was very tangy and very alcohol-y. It also has a really strong aftertaste.
Even though it was a lot of alcohol, I think I would've liked the drink better if it was just the alcohol and no Caesar mix or olive brine. So basically, a martini is better than a Caesar.
While the Canadian celeb tried to make the Caesar nice but there's no saving the cocktail in my opinion — it's just gross.
I couldn't even finish the drink. Sorry, Ryan, please don't come after me!
Narcity does not condone the overconsumption of alcohol or other substances. If you're going to drink alcohol or consume cannabis, please do so responsibly and only if you're of legal age.
Sarah's Caesar.
Lisa's Caesar.