While staying at the St. Regis Princeville on Kauai (highly recommended, by the way – this place is LUXURIOUS), I was told that the Bloody Mary was celebrating its 80th ‘birthday’ (see, I’m on vacation, and STILL learning food facts!) and that there was a whole week dedicated to the celebration (which we weren’t going to be around for, unfortunately.) But, what’s the connection between the hotel and the drink?
Red Snapper (illustration by Bil Donovan)
Here’s the story…
“Barman Fernand Petiot brought his signature vodka and tomato juice cocktail from Paris…to the new King Cole Bar at The St. Regis New York, adding ingredients until the ‘Bloody Mary’ was perfected in 1934. Concerned that the name might offend the more refined guests, he rechristened it the ‘Red Snapper’.
While the latter moniker may not have stood the test of time, Fernand’s spicy concoction certainly has. Today, the Bloody Mary remains the signature cocktail of the St. Regis brand, with each hotel crafting its own interpretation of the libation.”
I love the idea that there are unique versions of the Bloody Mary for each hotel (that’s over 30 versions!). Glancing through the recipes, I noticed that the hotels take local ingredients as their inspiration. For example, Atlanta’s recipe includes cayenne pepper and pickled okra juice while Osaka uses yuzu, wasabi powder and soy sauce.
The version at Princeville, called the ‘Aloha Mary’ was inspired by the 1958 film, South Pacific (which was filmed around the hotel’s location) and includes lime juice, sriracha and Kauai guava wood smoked sea salt.
The Aloha Mary (illustration by Bil Donovan)
To learn more about all the different signature Bloody Marys, check out the St. Regis page (and yes, they include the full recipe from every hotel!)
Disclosure: kitchen frolic received a complimentary copy ‘The Bloody Mary: The St. Regis Signature Cocktail’. We were not required to write this post and all opinions shared in this post are sincere and belong to us alone. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.
