Calgary's Westin Hotel is where the Bloody Caesar was invented

Calgary, Alberta - The infamous Bloody Caesar cocktail was invented in 1969, by bartender Walter Chell at the Westin Hotel. He had been asked to concoct a drink to commemorate the opening of Marco's, the hotel's Italian restaurant. Using its Italian cuisine for inspiration, he came up with a mixture of hand-mashed clams, tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper; then garnished it with a celery stick and named it for the Roman Emperor - a 'Bloody Caesar'. Later, with assistance from Chell, the Mott Company went on to develop 'clamato' juice. With this, the popularity of the cocktail has spread to the point that about 250 million Mott's Clamato Caesars are created and consumed annually. The Westin Hotel is in the heart of downtown Calgary, at 320 4th Ave. SW. That's next to the Bow River at Eau Claire Market. Quick Tip: The hotel, which has a rooftop pool and sauna, is connected to Calgary's 16.6 km climate-controlled pedestrian walkway system called Plus 15. Photo courtesty The Westin Calgary

Bloody Caesar Recipe: 1 oz Vodka, Clamato juice, 1 dash Worcestershire sauce, 1 dash Tabasco sauce, Salt, Pepper, Celery salt, Celery stick, Rim a tall glass with celery salt and fill with ice. Add vodka, fill glass with Clamato juice, and add Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt, and pepper. Garnish with a celery stick and enjoy! (Source: Tourism Calgary)

Canada’s Coolest:

Welcome to a new feature on Canada Cool. I'll be presenting different 'Coolest' lists with my favorites and I encourage you to nominate suggestions from your own experiences. You can Twitter @CanadaCool or email [email protected]. Let me know what makes your suggestion exceptionally cool. Remember, by contributing your comments you are giving Canada Cool permission to quote you. Only a selection of submissions will be included, but all comments and submissions are greatly appreciated!

The first feature is: Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives

Here are some of my favorites...

The Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta - This 229 km (142 mi) Rocky Mountain route from Banff/Lake Louise to Jasper passes 100 frozen rivers and nudges the base of the Athabasca Glacier - the most accessible glacier in the world. You can stop and explore it. It spills down from the Columbia Icefield, an area of ice so massive that you could fit the entire population of North America on it with each person getting at least a square metre of space.

The Corridor, Algonquin Park, Ontario – this 56-km stretch of Hwy 60 cuts through the southwest section of Algonquin Park. Less than three hours north of Toronto the park is a nature-lover's paradise with 7,725 km of lakes, rivers, forest, trails, camping, comfortable lodges and 2000 km of canoe routes. Offers hiking trails to stop and enjoy, but what makes it really cool is that it’s one of the best places in North America to spot moose (especially in May and June). And, on Thursday nights in August up to 600 cars will gather to listen to wolves howl.

The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia – Driving this 303 km (187 mile) route is like riding a roller-coaster: the road snakes around hairpin turns, rises to heights over 365 metres (1200 ft), weaves around headlands revealing spectacular coastal scenery, and plunges down to sea level taking you into the heart of small fishing communities. The most dramatic scenery is between the Cape Breton Highlands National Park entrance near Cheticamp and Pleasant Bay, so go slow. And, plan some flexibility into your schedule, so you can drive it on a clear day.

And here are some of your nominations for 'Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives'...

More from Canada’s Coolest

'Canada's Coolest' topics we'll be publishing in the future:

• Golf Course Features
• Haunted Hotels
• Hotel Special Services

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