Effen Vodka presents The Art of Design

Last week, I had the privilege of attending an event that brought together two of my great loves: vodka and fashion.  The event was held downtown at an amazing gallery space, Marvimon, from the same folks as the awesome West-side SmogShoppe (party planners take note!).

Style and booze bloggers were invited to sample five Effen vodka cocktails created by five teams of two.  We were all given a bag of marbles to place as many as we wished in the bottle of our favorite mixologists.  Besides us booze blogger judges, there was also a small group of official judges that include my drinking buddy, The Minty.  There were also a couple of local artwork and jewelry on display.

Here’s a rundown of the cocktails -

Team Red: Old Thyme

Effen, Blackberry, Lemon, & Basil

A cocktail with blackberry would normally be a favorite of mine, but unfortunately the cocktails (yes, I went back for more – tee hee!) I did try had big blocks of ice that made it difficult to drink. I’m not sure if that was a mixology call or just a bad bunch of ice.

Team Orange: 99 Degrees in the Shade

Effen, Mint Infused Simple Syrup, Strawberries, Jalapeño & Cucumber

Normally, I’m not a fan of drinks with any kind of spice, but this cocktail was my second favorite of the night. I really think it was the mint infused simple syrup that blended the flavors together so well.

Team Yellow: Smooth Operator

Effen Black Cherry, Simple Syrup, Lime, & Ginger

I didn’t get the opportunity for a full drink due to the photo shoot at this station so I moved on to another station. However, this drink was voted the top drink by the official judges. 

Team Blue: Old Thyme

Effen, Thyme, Blueberry, & Peach Bitters

This cocktail was my favorite and later won the vote for fan favorite.  I liked this drink so much that I went back to the station a couple of times.  When I order a drink, it’s usually just one ingredient that I favor but in this case I loved everything mixed together. Plus, it helped that the guys had so much energy and offered high fives in exchange for marbles!

Team Purple: Mango Tango

Effen, Mango, Yellow Bell Pepper, & Cilantro

This cocktail was good, but just not my cup of… vodka.  They definitely get props for the originality of adding yellow bell pepper.

While I only got to check out the display of jewelry by Luv AJ, it was fabulous to see so many fashionable bloggers in the house. I got to catch up with Laurie, Kelsi, Rahiel, and meet a few others. My favorite meet was Grasie of Style Me Grasie! See you if you can spot me in her post!

It wouldn't be a booze/fashion post without sharing what I was wearing - be kind, Joan Rivers!

Thanks again to the folks at Brand Influencers for the invite!

-JG