“Old King Cole”

Our drinks came with a story, the server explaining that the Old King Cole name is based on the tale that the martini originated at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York, whose bar had a Maxfield Parrish mural of Old King Cole.

I suppose I was picturing someone in a crown and an ermine-trimmed scarlet robe, like Old King Cole.

The artist, known for his portrayals of fetching young women perched on rocks and for his colorful mural of “Old King Cole” that hangs in the King Cole Bar and Salon at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan, was a savvy marketer of his own works, the Cutlers said.

“They have to go see the heralded splendor of this newest Times Square building. The women even peek in at the barroom to see Parrish’s picture of Old King Cole.”

The famed space, defined by Maxfield Parrish’s iconic Old King Cole mural, has been outfitted with graphic carpeting, dramatic metal vases, and a replica of the dreamy sky painting that once covered the ceiling.