Cucumber Skini-Tini is Pasadena’s Favorite Cocktail 2013

The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce’s  second SIP-tember: a Celebration of the Cocktail, the annual 6-week long celebration of the cocktail that wrapped up today with the selecting of Toro Sushi Bar Lounge’s Cucumber Skini-Tini as the winning drink.

“It’s a bracket challenge with drinks, like March Madness but with drinks instead of basketball,” event coordinator Paul Little said.

The other three finalist cocktails, after four rounds of voting and 4,962 votes cast, were:

• The Tap Room at the Langham Pasadena’s CC Crush
• Green Street Restaurant’s Bourbon Blackberry Collins
• Kal’s Mediterranean Bistro’s Arugula Rocket

Voting for Pasadena’s Favorite Cocktail wrapped up at the taste of Pasadena & SIP-tember Finale at the Rose Bowl on Thursday night. Those attending the Taste of Pasadena tasted the four finalist cocktails and voted for the one they think should be named Pasadena’s Favorite Cocktail 2013.

“The restaurants did a good job of getting people to support them so the choices are by the people,”  Little said.

Pasadena’s Favorite Cocktail 2013 was named at 8:45 p.m. at the Rose Bowl.

At the event revelers enjoyed great food and drink from 24 of Pasadena’s best restaurants and caterers along with wine tasting with Old Oak Cellars winery and more.

The idea for the cocktail challenge was born with a desire to remember Pasadena native Julia Child for her contributions to culinary and television history. Since Julia Child was known to enjoy a good cocktail, the Commerce decided to throw the citywide cocktail party on her birthday, August 15^th, at venues throughout the city.  At the same time, they wanted to highlight Pasadena’s restaurants and lounges. The SIP-tember Cocktail Bracket Challenge and Celebration of the Cocktail was a fun and novel way to lead into the Taste of Pasadena event at the Rose Bowl.