Bloody Mary
In the land of alcohol lore, some say that American bartender Ferdinand Petiot first fixed customers a Bloody Mary in the 1920s at Harry's New York Bar... in Paris. But don't despair, New Yorkers! Petoit still perfected the drink we know today as a Bloody Mary in none other than NYC.
In one version of the cocktail's history, Petiot added the drink's signature spices and Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces while working at the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel in 1934. And while George Jessel also claims to have created the drink from his Palm Beach home in the mid-1920s, we're sticking by our New York story. As Petoit told
The New Yorker on July 18, 1964:
"I initiated the Bloody Mary of today. George Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over."
[Photo: King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel via]