It’s me, vodka
A foot-in-the-door spirit for new distilleries and a stalwart in the speed rail and on the back bar, vodka is the moneymaker for many caterers. Our contestants were tasked with crafting a vodka cocktail that would please a wide variety of guests.
Dan Smith Chavira chose the ever-popular Bloody Mary to wow the judges, with a house-made tomatillo juice replacing the regular tomato juice. He also infused his vodka with cucumber and garnished with horseradish pickled quail eggs.
Roger Reynolds chose to go simple and refreshingly juicy with a combination of passion fruit and ginger syrup with his vodka base.
In his Sundara Sling, Mark Baldwin made a powerful concoction of vodka, aperol, yuzu, thai basil simple syrup and strawberry puree. Wow!
The visual beauty of Jeff Selden’s Cherry Berry Bloom with blood orange and fresh yuzu juice, Luxardo cherry liqueur, and Gray Goose vodka was matched entirely by its uplifting flavor.
