The St. Regis Hotel is laying claim to having invented the Bloody Mary by bottling its signature recipe and throwing brunches and parties to mark its 80th anniversary at sister properties around the world.
Despite its murky origins -- Harry’s New York Bar in Paris and the 21 Club in New York both claim to have invented the tomato-vodka cocktail -- the St. Regis hotel is taking credit for having created the Bloody Mary in 1934.
According to the St. Regis, the cocktail as we know it today was born when St. Regis bartender Fernand Petiot spiced up a basic tomato juice and vodka mix which had been served at Harry’s Bar in Paris with added ingredients like celery salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon and Worcestershire sauce.
In the 1930s, however, the name ‘Bloody Mary’ -- deemed too vulgar at the time -- was given the moniker ‘Red Snapper.’
In other historical hotel-cocktail tie-ups, Dukes hotel in London is likewise inextricably linked to the classic Martini, thanks to having been the favored watering hole of Sir Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond series.
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