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The Red Snapper. A Cocktail by Another Name

In 1934, Fernand Petiot, a bartender at St Regis New York’s King Cole Bar perfected a recipe for the iconic vodka-and-tomato-juice cocktail originally dubbed the Bloody Mary. Born into the hospitality industry in France in1900, and working his way up to bartender at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, Petiot was said to have invented the first Bloody Mary in the early 1920’s, naming it after a waitress of the same nickname.

In 1934, Fernand Petiot, a bartender at St Regis New York’s King Cole Bar perfected a recipe for the iconic vodka-and-tomato-juice cocktail originally dubbed the Bloody Mary. Born into the hospitality industry in France in1900, and working his way up to bartender at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, Petiot was said to have invented the first Bloody Mary in the early 1920’s, naming it after a waitress of the same nickname.

After making his way to New York, he fine-tuned the Bloody Mary, adding salt, lemon and Tabasco, to satisfy the savory palates of his sophisticated clientele, which included Ernest Hemingway, Ava Gardner, Salvador Dali, Joe DiMaggio, gangster Frank Costello and every U.S. President from 1934 to 1972, excluding Lyndon B. Johnson. At that time, the name was deemed inappropriate and rather racy for the elegant crowd of the hotel, and it was rechristened as the Red Snapper.

Today, the Red Snapper is made with gin instead of vodka, but we pay homage to the ‘original’ Petiot version using vodka as its base. We think it’s best served for weekend brunch, but we hope you enjoy it any way you like.

Red Snapper (inspired by the original Petiot recipe)

Recipe:

2 oz. tomato juice

2 oz. Vodka

3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce

2 dashes salt

2 pinches cayenne pepper

2 pinches black pepper

1 dash lemon juice

Method:

Add all ingredients to a tall glass with ice and stir. Garnish with three onions on a bamboo skewer. Enjoy!