Announcing the 2022 Winner of the Tripleseat Sip-Sational Cocktail Contest
This past spring, Tripleseat launched the first-ever Sip-Sational Cocktail Contest, inviting venues across the globe to think ahead to the end-of-year holiday season and share their best holiday cocktail recipes.
The response blew us away — we received dozens of entries! It was hard work, but the Tripleseat team of cocktail enthusiasts and former bartenders reviewed all of the contenders. They narrowed the list to 12 semifinalists based on creativity, holiday spirit, and overall recipe. Voting then went to the general public, and five finalists were selected.
In a final — and delicious step — we invited the finalists to attend Tripleseat’s EventCamp conference in Boston on Sept. 13 to participate in a live sip-off, where EventCamp attendees tasted and voted on their favorite cocktail.
And the winner was Christmas in the Andes by John Marsh of Ellen’s in Dallas. This creamy, dreamy concoction hooked taste testers with its eggnog base, mint and chocolate flavors, and a generous garnish of chocolate shavings.
“Over the holidays last year, one of my colleagues, Buster Robbins, challenged me to a ‘Nog-Off.’ She and I each made batches of our eggnog recipes to taste and judge. When I heard about Tripleseat’s Sip-Sational Cocktail Challenge, I knew I had another opportunity to kick her ass,” Marsh said.
“I usually use bourbon and aged rum in my eggnog, but for this, I wanted to do something unique. One of the things I associate with Christmas is candy canes. I wanted to do something with peppermint to reflect that association. The flavors of the peppermint eggnog I came up with reminded us of Andes mints, so we decided to reflect that in the name, but subtly. Eggnog is a holiday go-to, but we hope this take on an old favorite reminds you that traditions can be dusted off and freshened up. Buster, who loves to judge, agrees that this is a winner.”
Take a look at all the finalist cocktail recipes and try one out for yourself this holiday season!
