photos by Matthew Knudsen

As you know, the 7x7 Bottle Service Pour-Off went down last night, and I think most people would agree that it was a rousing success. Sip Lounge is a great space with a great vibe, especially when it's filled with so many good people there to cheer on their favorite bartenders.

With the exception of Tim Stookey, who fell ill the day of the competition, all the bartenders—Alberta, Amanda, Duggan, H., Jackie, Vard and Vince—came with their A-game. I can't tell you how impressed I was with what they concocted.


The judges:  Nish, Jordan and Jill

The judges—Nish (Director of Marketing from Yelp), Jill (the savvy and well-informed winner of the reader's poll) and I—were blown away by the creativity and balance of all the cocktails. Kissui vodka from Japan was the featured ingredient, and so many of the cocktails did a brilliant job of developing the Asian theme.

The mix-off was very close and, as always with panel decisions, one's favorite drink was not necessarily the winner, rather the winner is the one that was liked enough by the majority.

The winning cocktail was named Sugasugashii. Anyone want to give the pronunciation a shot?