Caesar Sundays will never be the same for a Lumsden, Sask., distillery.
The family-owned and operated Last Mountain Distillery is putting its name on the map the best way it can: by aiming to break the record for the world’s largest Caesar cocktail.
The 800-litre drink won’t cure a hangover, but it will make one worse.
The gigantic Caesar’s monstrous garnish? Two pieces of steak, two blocks of cheese, and an entire celery stalk.
With 4,572 shots of their famous dill-pickle-infused vodka and 318 945-ml bottles of Clamato juice, it tops the previous record held by a small Ontario village called Pain Court. That Caeser was 588 litres, according to World Record Academy.
“I just really felt strongly that the record for a Caeser needed to be held in Saskatchewan,” said Meredith Schmidt, co-founder and owner of Last Mountain Distillery.
“Everyone loves Caesars here.”
She and her husband Colin opened the distillery in 2010 when they decided to turn their hobby of crafting spirits into a career. They left their business and finance jobs to make the big jump.
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Long-time family friend Janey Davies made sure to come by the distillery’s fifth annual CaesarFest to get her very own bottle of the now-famous drink.
“I’ve known Colin since he was a young, young boy,” Davies said. “I’ve known his mum and dad for years and we’ve supported his initiative here.”
But being close with the family wasn’t the only reason she showed up.
“It’s the 50th anniversary of the Caesar this year, so we thought we’d come by and see how they do it.”
The distillery’s massive Caesar wouldn’t have come together had it not been for careful planning.
“We had to make sure we had enough dill pickle vodka. We also needed the proper amount of clam juice, Worcestershire and lime,” explained distillery bottling manager Jennifer Garbutt.
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“We had to calculate the proper amount that we needed. It was a big undertaking.”
Work on the massive cocktail began in March, and the calculations and hard work were appreciated. The distillery’s brand ambassador and former St. Louis Blues player Mike Sillinger was all in favour of the mix.
“It’s really good. The dill pickle vodka is a nice touch, very nice touch,” Sillinger gushed.
The recipes come from the family who runs the distillery and the love they have for each other.
“We actually started in our garage almost nine years ago now,” Schmidt said. “We started this business to spend more time with our family.
“Our gin is granny’s gin, Colin’s grandmother is a gin lover, and we made our gin for her.”
The value that the family places on togetherness is passed on to the community as well. At the event, residents and visitors were able to grab a clam juice, a vodka bottle, or a seasoning and pour it in themselves.
“For everybody to be able to come in and be a part of it, absolutely, it was way more work than we could have handled ourselves anyways, so we’re just so grateful.”
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