PRINCEVILLE – Raise your glass. Make that, glasses.
It’s the year of the Bloody Mary – the anniversary of its inception 80 years ago. The St. Regis Princeville Resort is ready to party, with a weeklong agenda of talk stories about the breakfast cocktail as well as daily and nightly drink offerings with 22 different varieties.
The cocktail has been a part of St. Regis history since 1934. Bartender Fernand Petiot introduced the drink at The St. Regis in New York and named it the “Red Snapper.” It would later be renamed the Bloody Mary. Since then, it has become the signature cocktail at the Starwood chain of luxury resorts worldwide, where 31 variations on the drink salute individual hotels with the region’s fresh regional ingredients. At the Princeville location guests can delight in the “Aloha Mary.”
David Putnicki, one of the St. Regis Princeville Sommeliers, said that The “Aloha Mary” was inspired by the 1958 classic movie, South Pacific, filmed on Kauai, with most scenes filmed on the North Shore.
“The ‘Aloha Mary’ combines ingredients sourced both regionally and around the Pacific Rim, such as sriracha and wasabi. The smoked guava wood sea salt is made on Kauai and the Vodka is handcrafted on Maui. The combined ingredients impart a rich, complex Oceania flavor to the cocktail,”
Putnicki said.
Throughout the week the hotel will be offering various renditions of the cocktail all day long.
“It’s fun and delicious to talk to our guests about the rich heritage of one of our very own cocktails,” Putnicki said. “From the aloha cocktail to the Bloody Brunello served at the St. Regis Florence. Vodka is replaced with Grappa di Brunello di Montalcino, a renowned wine from Tuscany.”
St. Regis Princeville Executive Sous Chef Franck Desplechin is excited to be offering cuisine with a local flair to please the palette and complement the Bloody Mary variations. An inspired Bloody Mary Sushi Roll created for the event will include three types of tomatoes julienned, fresh shrimp and ahi tuna with a side dip of vodka and tomato aioli.
The Bloody Mary events will run today through Saturday. The hotel will host three Bloody Mary appreciation/tasting classes in the St. Regis Bar on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 p.m. for $25 per person, adults only.
For a complete listing of the schedule of events visit www.stregisprinceville.com/experience/events-calendar. For a link to the St. Regis World Collection of Bloody Mary cocktails visit www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/beverages/index.html and pull down “culture” tab and “bloody mary.”
Recipe for the St. Regis Princeville “Aloha Mary” cocktail:
Ingredients:
Juice of half a lime
10 drops Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch wasabi powder
2 drops sriracha
2 twists black pepper
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1 oz. premium organic Hawaiian Ocean Vodka
3 oz. Clamato juice
Kauai guava wood smoked sea salt
Sea asparagus, for garnish
1 lime wedge, for garnish
Directions: Combine the lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, wasabi powder, sriracha, pepper, celery salt, vodka and Clamato juice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and pour over ice in a Collins glass rimmed with guava wood smoked sea salt. Garnish with local sea asparagus and a wedge of lime.
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Lisa Ann Capozzi, a features and education reporter can be reached at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.
