RED EYE: Drink of champions

You either love or hate this drink. Beer with Clamato juice. I’ve heard it called a red eye but mostly just “beer with Clam.”

I think it’s a western thing since I picked it up in Saskatchewan and people out east give me funny looks when I mix them together.

So here’s my bicoastal fusion. New Brunswick’s own Alpine beer mixed with Clam.

While we’re on the topic, Canadians probably drink more Clamato than anywhere else in the world. We guzzle it mostly in Caesars, invented in Calgary.

Mott’s cleverly bought the concept of tomato juice with clam extract in 1969 and has pretty much cornered the market.

Clamato never really caught on with Americans but it’s huge among Hispanic people because Mott’s makes it in plants in Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. They drink Clam for breakfast, use it as a condiment over ceviche or in cooking.