Where to go for the best Bloody Mary in Manhattan

The King Cole bar at the St. Regis Hotel, 55th Street off Fifth, is the place.   The King Cole bar claims authorship of the drink, dating back to the 1930s I believe.  While there is some dispute as to the historical accuracy of this claim, King Cole is the strongest contender for the original recipe.  The bar itself is an amazing piece of New York history, the name stemming from an original Maxfield Parrish mural depicting the monarch which is hung behind the bar; few locations can provide both great art and the opportunity to get trashed at the same time.  Their version of the Bloody Mary ranks as one of the two best I have ever enjoyed, the other being crafted at the bar of the Dukes Hotel in London.  And the bar mix contains macadamia nuts, so other than the outrageous tab one cannot go wrong.