Cocktail competitions are a barometer to measure what is happening in mixology as a whole. When a homemade syrup, unusual ingredient or particular bartending direction appears in recipes from more than one city, its great insight into which trends and techniques are growing most quickly across the country.

The organic / sustainable category is one of my areas of personal passion. Having taught The Liquid Muse Sustainable Sips® to nearly 1000 people around the US, last year, I am especially interested to see bartenders working with organic spirits. So, I was excited when Rain Organics vodka recently tapped me as a judge in their national cocktail competition.

One winning cocktail recipe will be selected to represent each of its 4 flavors: Lavender Lemonade; Honey Mango Melon; Cucumber Lime and Red Grape Hibiscus. FOUR lucky winners – one for each flavor – will a trip to Tales of the Cocktail where they will compete yet again at the Rain Organics Tasting Room on Friday, July 10th!

The judges were asked to grade the drinks from 1-100 points, using this scale:

30 points: Taste
20 points: Originality
20 points: Ease of Preparation
10 points: Presentation
10 points: Fit with brand

These 6 are my top picks from the Top Ten recipes submitted to me by the Rain team, receiving a score of 78 or higher:

Houston – “Lavender Lemonade”
Portland – “Provencal”
Boston – “The Glass Eye”
New York City – “November Rain”
Philadelphia – “Cucumber Thai Rain”
Pittsburgh – “Spicy Mango Bloody Mary”

I can’t wait to see the final announcement, once all the judges’ scores are in, and meet the lucky winners in person at the Tasting Room.

Good luck, everyone!