Where was the Bloody Mary invented? And what about James Bond’s favourite cocktail, or the Singapore Sling?
- Harry’s Bar in Paris and the Regis New York both claim the Bloody Mary; Raffles Singapore claims the Singapore Sling, but this too has been disputed
- With witnesses to their creation long dead, and recipes that have been adapted, it is difficult to resolve these arguments. Just say chin chin! and drink up
Take one part heritage hotel, one part fabled bar, add a dash of controversy, then stir and you have the recipe behind some classic cocktails.
In December, Harry’s Bar in Paris celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Bloody Mary it claims a former barman there, Fernand Petiot, created in 1921. The St Regis New York hotel also claims the Bloody Mary – poured, it says, at its King Cole bar by the very same Petiot, but in 1934.
According to the St Regis, the story goes like this: “In 1934, famed barman Fernand Petiot perfected the recipe for a vodka and tomato juice cocktail, known as the Bloody Mary, at The St Regis New York’s King Cole Bar. Originally christened the Bloody Mary, the cocktail was renamed the Red Snapper so as not to offend the hotel’s refined clientele.”
Note the word “perfected”. The well respected drinks resource Difford’s Guide elaborates: “It appears [Petiot] simply spiced up an existing and well-established combo of vodka and tomato juice while working at the St Regis Hotel, New York City.” Difford’s attributes the creation instead to Hollywood actor George Jessel, in 1927.
Jessel is said to have created the concoction in desperation while hung over; a similar theory concerns the origin of another cocktail, the Singapore Sling, of which more later.
