The Competitive Spirit

I've been out of commission for a few days with a tummy bug that has not only kept me home from work, but has also kept me from all of my cocktailian experiments (boo.) Monday sort of passed in a blur, as I spent all of my time either lying miserably in bed or, well.... I'll leave that to the imagination. Or, preferable to all, not.

Imagine my dismay then, upon stirring late finally from my seclusion, to discover that I had completely and utterly missed the boat on this week's Mixology Monday. If you are unfamiliar, this is a monthly event conceived by Paul Clarke over at The Cocktail Chronicles and you can find more information about the specifics here.

This month, Dave of The Barman Cometh hosted, challenging participants to "feature a cocktail that highlights a floral flavor profile or includes a floral derived ingredient, whether home-made or off the shelf." I was really bummed when I read the challenge, because I am all about using flowers in food and drink (one of these days, I am going to tackle that marigold custard....) Imagine my delight this morning, when I opened today's eLetter from Ardent Spirits with the details for the VeeV Garden-to-Glass Cocktail Challenge.

The challenge:

VeeV is inviting any Tom, Dick, Harry, & Jane, with the inclination, to create a cocktail using VeeV, fresh seasonal herbs, and fruits. The deadline for submissions is midnight on Monday May, 23.

Whaaaaaat!?! I think I all but squealed out loud (okay, I totally did.) Agonized at the thought of waiting for the next Mixology Monday, I was ecstatic to hear of another such challenge with which I could not only get my blog rolling and get my feet wet with, but one that I am *gasp!* familiar with! I work in a pretty nice restaurant and while I am just a humble hostess, I'm a pretty nosy gal and make it my business to know how the stuff we serve is made. It shouldn't come as any surprise that I tend to ask the most questions about the cocktails we serve in the bar... Last summer, on our list of roof-top cocktails (all made with herbs literally grown right on our roof,) there was a twist on the Mojito made with (suprise!) Veev Acai Spirit, house mint, and cucumber. It was wildy popular, and for good reason, I thought.

The Prize?

Three entries with the highest votes win a 3-day trip to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.

Hell yeah! I've been dying to visit NoLa for ages: the Carousel Bar, the Sazarac was born there, and oh, there's that whole French Quarter thing. Like I need motivation...

So, on the mend finally, and inspired both by this week's MxMo challenge and the successful cocktail I'm already so familiar with, I'm excited to start playing around in the liquor cabinet again.

I've got a couple bottles of bitters on order, which should be arriving on Friday. I've got to pickup some Veev- something I've been meaning to have on hand at home, anyway- and some fresh goodies for my trials. Stay tuned over the next few days for a blogging blitz while I try my hand at some new techniques, and try tweaking some old recipes :)