Clamato
Clamato /kləˈmætoʊ/ is a commercial drink made of reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and sugar, which is flavored with spices, dried clam broth and MSG.[1] Made by Mott's, the name is a portmanteau of clam and tomato. It is also referred to colloquially as "clamato juice". It is consumed in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
![]() 341 mL can of Mott's Clamato. The Canadian package artwork includes English and French languages. | |
Type | Tomato juice/clam broth hybrid |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Mott's (Keurig Dr Pepper) |
Country of origin | United States |
Introduced | 1966 |
Variants | Nutrimato, Beefamato, X-tra Spicy, The Works |
Related products | Kraut juice, Caesar |
Website | www![]() |
In 1935 The Clamato Corporation of New York produced "clam and tomato juice in combination".[2]
In 1940, "Lobster King" Harry Hackney was granted the Clamato trademark.[3] His Atlantic City restaurant, Hackney's, sold Clamato juice in cans. [4]
In 1957, McCormick & Company, Inc. applied for, and later acquired, the Clamato brand name for the seasoned blend of tomato juice and clam juice. [5]
Clamato was produced in its current form beginning in 1966 by the Duffy-Mott company in Hamlin, New York, by Francis Luskey, a chemist, and another employee who wanted to create a Manhattan clam chowder style cocktail by combining tomato juice and clam broth with spices. Its history extends further back, however, as a nearly identical drink was already present in a cookbook published a decade earlier.[6] The employees named the new cocktail "Mott's Clamato" and secured the trademark for the new brand. The brand was owned by Cadbury-Schweppes after the company bought Mott's in 1982. As of 2008, it is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper after the business was spun off of Cadbury-Schweppes.[7]
Mixed drinks
Clamato is used primarily as a drink mix for alcoholic beverages (an estimated 60% of sales in the US in 2008[8]), and it is popular for this in both Canada and Mexico, but less so in the United States (outside of Canadian-American and Mexican-American communities). In Canada it is primarily used to make a Caesar.
Beer
Clamato is also added to beer in various beer cocktails, such as the michelada; the most basic is known as a "beer 'n clam" or a "Red Eye" in Western Canada, which adds Clamato to pale lagers. In 2001, Anheuser-Busch and Cadbury-Schweppes introduced a premixed version called the "Budweiser and Clamato Chelada" in the United States,[8]
Adding more spices (similar to those in a Caesar) results in what is called sangre de cristo (blood of Christ)[9] in Mexico.
Beefamato
Beefamato is a similar beverage, but made from beef broth and tomato juice, with a touch of Worcestershire sauce. Beefamato is a popular ingredient in many cocktails, such as "Gramma's Bloody Mary".[10]
References
- "The Original | Motts". Canada Dry Mott’s Inc. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
Ingredients: CITRIC ACID, COLOUR, DRIED CLAM BROTH, GLUCOSE-FRUCTOSE, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, RED CHILI PEPPER, SALT, SEA SALT, SEASONINGS, SPICES, TOMATO PASTE, VINEGAR, WATER
- Patent Office, United States (1935). "Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, 1935".
- "Catalog of Copyright Entries 1940".
- "Hackney's Menu".
- Patent Office, United States (1960). "Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office 1960".
- Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1956.
- "Clamato - A History in Red". Retrieved February 11, 2009.
- "Budweiser & Clamato Chelada And Bud Light & Clamato Chelada Arrive Nationwide | Beer (& More) In Food". Beerinfood.wordpress.com. January 14, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
- "Sangre De Cristo Recipe at". Epicurious.com. January 28, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
- "Gramma's Bloody Mary". Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clamato. |
![]() |
Look up clamato in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |