My First Bartender Competition

On October 20th, I entered my very first bartender competition.

I know. It's been awhile since the competition and my last blog entry.

The competition was at Elixir here in San Francisco and was sponsored by Square One Vodka. We had to use the new Square One Cucumber vodka (which is quite tasty on it's own I must say). The competition itself was pretty cool. Five, city lady bartenders who all had to design their own concoction using the product. We had to not only come up with the drink, but batch it out for a crowd of 50 plus. It's hard enough coming up with a cocktail, but making it for 50 people to enjoy is something else. Lots of pressure. On top of that, this was the same day that I taught my very first bartender school class. October 20th was quite a big day for me.

My Winning Cocktail:

Some Like It Hot

Square One Cucumber Vodka
St Germain (elderflower liqueur)
Muddled basil, cucumber and serrano chili
Fresh lemon juice

Shaken and served chilled, up in a cocktail glass with a cucumber and serrano chili garnish

I didn't take first place, but my drink did win the "Best Hair of the Dog Cocktail" and I walked home with a super cool goodie bag. My drink also made the cocktail menu at work.

Boo Yah!