St. Regis Macao launched an “extraordinary bar programme” on Wednesday, the anniversary of the world premiere of the first James Bond film, “Dr No”, in 1962, to celebrate the art of drinking and pay homage to the legacy of the original House of Astor, The St. Regis New York.
According to a recent statement by the hotel, the programme features a selection of 40 cocktail recipes inspired by five New York neighbourhoods, merging Manhattan’s “stylish charm” with local infusions to come up with original creations.
Part of the programme, the “Violet Hour” ritual that was inspired by “The Hour: A Cocktail Manifesto” written by US author Bernard DeVoto, takes place daily at 6:30 p.m., with guests able to order three martinis: Violet Hour Martini, Churchill Martini and Vesper Martini, which are not included on the menu during the bar’s opening hours from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. every Wednesday to Monday, the statement said, adding that during the ritual, bartenders will put on a “theatrical” cocktail-throwing performance to celebrate the end of the day and the beginning of the evening.
According to www.goodreads.com, “The Hour: A Cocktail Manifesto” is one part celebration, one part history, two parts manifesto, Bernard DeVoto’s book being both a comic and unequivocal treatise on how and why people drink – properly. In the book, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author (1897-1955) “turns his shrewd wit on the spirits and attitudes that causes his stomach to turn and his eyes to roll… DeVoto’s book, which was published in 1951, instructs his readers on how to drink like gentlemen and sheds new light on the simple joys of the cocktail hour.
The statement quoted Sheraton Grand Macao and The St. Regis Macao Multi-Property Vice President Janet McNab as saying that the ceremony represented a “distinctive” ritual within the programme that aims to captivate a new generation of drinkers in Macau and across the world, adding that the ritual offers an opportunity for guests to indulge in three martinis that are reminiscent of a different age.
This undated handout photo provided by St. Regis Macao recently shows a bartender preparing a drink at the five-star hotel’s bar.
