View source for Clamato

{{short description|Clam and tomato beverage}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox Beverage
| name = Clamato
| image = [[Image:Clamato can.jpg|250px| ]]
| caption = 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]])
| origin = United States
| introduced = {{start date and age|1966}}
| discontinued =
| related = [[Kraut juice]], [[Caesar (cocktail)|Caesar]]
| variants = {{hlist|Nutrimato|X-tra Spicy|The Works}}
|distributor= [http://grupopenafiel.com.mx/bebida/clamato/ Grupo Peñafiel] (Mexico)<br>[[Canada Dry Motts]] (Canada)<br>[https://www.clamatouk.com/ Empire Bespoke Foods Ltd] (UK)
}}

'''Clamato''' {{IPAc-en|k|l|ə|ˈ|m|ɑː|t|ə|ʊ}}, {{IPAc-en|k|l|ə|ˈ|m|eɪ|t|ə|ʊ}}, {{IPAc-en|k|l|ə|ˈ|m|æ|t|oʊ}} is a commercial drink made of reconstituted [[tomato juice]] [[Juice concentrate|concentrate]] and sugar, which is flavored with spices, dried [[clam broth]] and [[MSG]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mottsclamato.ca/en/products/the-original |title=The Original <nowiki>|</nowiki> Motts |website=Canada Dry Mott's Inc. |access-date=25 July 2019 |quote=Ingredients:GLUTAMATE, RED CHILI PEPPER, SALT, SEA SALT, SEASONINGS, SPICES, TOMATO PASTE, VINEGAR, WATER}}</ref> It is made by [[Mott's]]. The name is a [[portmanteau]] of ''clam'' and ''tomato''. It is consumed in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, to a lesser extent. It is very often [[Mixed drink|mixed]] with [[Alcohol (drink)|alcohol]] to make a [[Caesar (cocktail)|Caesar]], a drink similar to a [[Bloody Mary (cocktail)|Bloody Mary]].

== History ==
In 1935, The Clamato Corporation of New York produced "clam and tomato juice in combination".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Patent Office|first1=United States|year=1935|title=Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, 1935|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQLLzmulvwsC&q=%22clamato%22}}</ref>

In 1938, [[House & Garden (magazine)|House & Garden]] magazine printed a recipe for "Tomato-Clam Juice Cocktail", consisting of tomato juice, clam broth, and salt.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4yEgAQAAMAAJ&q=%22tomato+clam+juice%22 |title=Tomato-Clam Juice Cocktail|magazine=House & Garden|date=1938|volume=74|page=32|access-date=April 28, 2024}}</ref>

In 1940, "Lobster King" Harry Hackney was granted the Clamato trademark.<ref>{{cite web|year=1940|title=Catalog of Copyright Entries 1940|url=https://archive.org/stream/catalogofcopyrig354libr/catalogofcopyrig354libr_djvu.txt|publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off.}}</ref>
His Atlantic City restaurant, Hackney's, sold Clamato juice in cans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=restaurant_menus|title=Hackney's Menu}}</ref>

In 1957, McCormick & Company, Inc. applied for, and later acquired, the Clamato brand name for the seasoned blend of tomato juice and clam juice.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Patent Office|first1=United States|year=1960|title=Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office 1960|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KfmvSFE25doC&q=Clamato+McConnick}}</ref> This trademark is still valid and now owned by [[Keurig Dr Pepper]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=USPTO|title=CLAMATO - Cape Cod Cooks, Inc. Trademark Registration|url=https://uspto.report/TM/72040657|access-date=2021-12-23|website=USPTO.report|language=en}}</ref>

Clamato was produced in its current form beginning in 1966
{{Citation needed|date=April 2024|reason=The current article references discuss 1969 as a start date however the product was for sale by 1967}} by the [[Duffy-Mott]] company in [[Hamlin, New York]], created by Francis Luskey,{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} a chemist, and another employee working out of California<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our story Clamato UK|url=https://www.clamatouk.com/our-story|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106002510/https://www.clamatouk.com/our-story|archive-date=January 6, 2022}}</ref> who wanted to create a [[Manhattan clam chowder]] style cocktail by combining tomato juice and clam broth with spices.  The employees named the new cocktail "Mott's Clamato" and secured the trademark for the new brand. The brand was owned by [[Cadbury|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Clamato - A History in Red|url=http://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/brands/clamato/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903103408/http://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/brands/clamato/|archive-date=September 3, 2009|access-date=February 11, 2009}}</ref>

In recent years,{{When|date=September 2024}} the Clamato label was updated and no longer shows the image of a clam, an attempt by the manufacturer to downplay the seafood aspect of the beverage.

== Lawsuits ==
In 1998, Cadbury-Schweppes sued FBI Foods, a former contract manufacturer of Clamato, claiming that their brand "Caesar Cocktail" was proof of [[breach of confidence]], claiming that the product used their recipe as a base. They brought the case to the [[Supreme Court of British Columbia]].  The initial ruling was appealed. The case reached the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] and it was [[Cadbury Schweppes Inc v FBI Foods Ltd|ruled]] that FBI Foods would pay Cadbury-Schweppes $300,000 for revenue they lost in the first year of competition. It was reasoned that any juice maker would have been able to reverse-engineer the recipe within a year.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Cadbury Schweppes Inc v FBI Foods Ltd|court=|reporter=[1999] 1 SCR 142|vol=|opinion=|pinpoint=|date=|url=|quote=|postscript=|access-date=}}</ref>

Since 2018, Keurig Dr Pepper has sued several companies who have been infringing on the Clamato trademark using the "mato" suffix to describe their version of the product. This is done in order to prevent the [[Generic trademark|genericization]] of the trademark by making sure Clamato stays a [[Trademark distinctiveness|distinctive brand name]], as well as to preserve the brand image and identity.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=MOTT'S LLP v. COMERCIALIZADORA ELORO, S.A.|court=United States District Court, W.D. Texas, San Antonio Division.|reporter=Federal Supplement Reporters 3d series|vol=507|opinion=780|pinpoint=|date=December 14, 2020|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/507215758fsupp3d78053|quote=|postscript=|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mott's In TM Suit: I Say Clamato, You Can't Say Almato - Law360|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1010415/mott-s-in-tm-suit-i-say-clamato-you-can-t-say-almato|access-date=2021-12-23|website=www.law360.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite court|litigants=Mott's LLP v Comercializadora Eloro, S.A.|court=|reporter=2021 TMOB 49 (CanLII)|vol=|opinion=|pinpoint=|date=2021-03-19|url=https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/tmob/doc/2021/2021tmob49/2021tmob49.html|quote=|postscript=|access-date=}}</ref>

== Consumption ==
Clamato is used primarily as a drink mix for alcoholic beverages (an estimated 60% of sales in the US in 2008<ref name="beerinfood.wordpress">{{cite web|url=http://beerinfood.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/budweiser-clamato-chelada-and-bud-light-clamato-chelada-arrive-nationwide/ |title=Budweiser & Clamato Chelada And Bud Light & Clamato Chelada Arrive Nationwide {{!}} Beer (& More) In Food |publisher=Beerinfood.wordpress.com |date=January 14, 2008 |access-date=May 18, 2013}}</ref>), 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).

=== With vodka ===
In Canada, Clamato is primarily used to make a cocktail called a [[Caesar (cocktail)|Caesar]]. It was reported by ''The New York Times'' in 2018, that one third of North America's supply of Clamato is consumed by Canadians, the majority of which is used to make Caesars.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Simonson|first=Robert|date=January 11, 2018|title=It Came, It Quenched, It Conquered Canada: The Caesar|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/dining/drinks/caesar-cocktail-canada.html|url-status=live|website=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111181515/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/dining/drinks/caesar-cocktail-canada.html |archive-date=January 11, 2018 }}</ref> Since 2001, Cadbury Schweppes (now [[Canada Dry Motts]]) has been selling an alcoholic version of the beverage called the Clamato Caesar in the Canadian market.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hegenbart|first=Scott|date=2001|title=Cadbury Schweppes introduces ready-to-drink Bloody Caesar|url=https://www.foodingredientsonline.com/doc/cadbury-schweppes-introduces-ready-to-drink-b-0001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223045733/https://www.foodingredientsonline.com/doc/cadbury-schweppes-introduces-ready-to-drink-b-0001|archive-date=2021-12-23}}</ref>

=== With 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", "Clam Eye", or "Red Eye" in [[Western Canada]], which adds Clamato to [[pale lager]]s.  In 2001, [[Anheuser-Busch]] and Cadbury-Schweppes introduced a [[Premixed Drinks|premixed version]] called the "Budweiser and Clamato [[Michelada|Chelada]]" in the United States.<ref name="beerinfood.wordpress" />

Adding more spices (similar to those in a [[Caesar (cocktail)|Caesar]]) results in what is called ''sangre de cristo'' (blood of [[Christ]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/SANGRE-DE-CRISTO-50170862 |title=Sangre De Cristo Recipe at |publisher=Epicurious.com |date=January 28, 2012 |access-date=May 18, 2013 |archive-date=December 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226223420/http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/SANGRE-DE-CRISTO-50170862 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in Mexico.

== Beefamato ==

Mott's once produced a similar beverage named '''Beefamato''', made from [[beef broth]] and [[tomato juice]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ryanwelton.com/2020/09/21/whatever-happened-to-beefamato-by-motts/ | title=Whatever happened to Beefamato by Mott's? | date=September 21, 2020 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
{{commons}}
{{wiktionary}}
* {{Official website|https://www.clamato.com/|Clamato official website}}

{{Dr Pepper Snapple brands}}

[[Category:Drink brands]]
[[Category:Keurig Dr Pepper brands]]
[[Category:Juice brands]]
[[Category:Mixed drinks]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1966]]
[[Category:Canadian cuisine]]
[[Category:Mexican cuisine]]
[[Category:Clam dishes]]
[[Category:Canadian seafood dishes]]