Regular visitors to this blog know that our Founder and Creative Director Niamh Barker is a fan of the Bloody Mary. Earlier this month, she finally got to try one in the New York bar in which it was invented (). Her verdict? The best on the planet. But it turned out that her quest for the perfect Bloody Mary was only just beginning. St Regis, which owns the King Cole Bar, has 33 hotels around the world – and every one of them makes it own version of the iconic cocktail. As we are currently working with four St Regis Asia Pacific hotels on an exclusive , we asked them for their Bloody Mary recipes with an Asian twist.

Bali Mary

Indonesian cuisine takes centre stage with jicama (Mexican yam), cucumber and brown sugar.

Ingredients

100 g chopped jicama, plus more for garnish

6 cubes fresh cucumber

1 cube /10 g brown sugar

45 ml premium pepper vodka

210 ml Bloody Mary mix

Celery salt

Celery stalk, for garnish

Cherry tomato, for garnish

Directions

Muddle the jicama, cucumber and brown sugar. Mix with pepper vodka and Bloody Mary mix. Shake and pour into a 280 ml champagne glass rimmed with celery salt. Serve chilled (not on ice). Garnish with V-shape of jicama, celery and cherry tomato.

Further information,

Great Wall Bloody Mary

Taking its cue from the inclusion of beer in ancient worship rituals, this cocktail substitutes Chinese pilsner for vodka.

Ingredients

75 ml Tsingtao® beer

100 ml Bloody Mary mix

3 oyster shooters, for garnish

1 lemon wedge, for garnish

Directions

Pour the beer into an .2 litre white wineglass filled with ice. Then pour the Bloody Mary mix on top. Garnish with the oyster shooters and lemon wedge.

Further information,

Shogun Mary

Spicy wasabi, fresh yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit) and dry gin combine for a locally inspired libation.

Ingredients

1 slice lemon or yuzu 

100 ml 100% yuzu or lime juice

Wasabi powder

1 pinch salt

30 ml vodka

15 ml premium dry gin

1 ml soy sauce

80 ml tomato juice

Directions

Rim a 180 ml martini glass with the juice of a slice of yuzu or lime. Dip top of the glass into a mixture of salt and wasabi powder. Combine the vodka, gin, soy sauce, yuzu/lime and tomato juice with cubed ice. Shake and pour into the prepared glass.

Further information,



Chilli Padi Mary

Lemongrass, chili padi (bird’s eye chili) and ginger give this cocktail a distinct spiciness that reflects Singapore’s eclectic cuisine.

Ingredients

30ml premium vodka

1 piece lemongrass, about 2 cm thick

1 slice fresh ginger root (mature/old)

1/2 thinly sliced chili padi, seeds removed

0.5 ml sugar syrup

90ml tomato juice

Directions

Muddle the vodka, lemongrass, ginger, chili padi and sugar syrup together. Strain and pour into a short tumbler filled with ice. Add tomato juice, stir and serve.

Further information,

Illustrations by Bill Donovan