26 Apr Viva Sangrita! Tequila Ocho LA Regionals Cocktail Competition

Sangrita, which means “little blood”, is a non-alcoholic complement to a shot of straight tequila blanco.  Traditionally, a sangrita is made with tomato juice and spices which are meant to enhance the tequila.  But, Sangrita is more than that, as proven during the LA Regional finals of the Tequila Ocho Viva Sangrita! Competition, hosted by the Bon Vivants. Winners from the regional contests, which took place in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and Boston, will be sent to compete in the finals at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans in July.  The National winner will win a trip to Mexico, to the highlands of Jalisco, to visit the home of Tequila Ocho. The seven finalists, who competed a few weeks ago at the Los Angeles Regionals were Rich Andreoli (Areal), Chris Bostick (The Varnish), Joe Brooke (Mixology 101), Edwin Cruz (Tlapazola Grill), Cari Hah (Neat Bar), Danielle Griffin (Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas) and Matt Wallace (Harvard & Stone).    Attendees walked around and tasted each finalists’ sangrita recipe, casting a vote for their favorite.  Josh Harris and Alex Straus of Bon Vivants then announced the winner. And the winner of the LA Regional Finals is…………Rich Andreoli with his “Gimme That Ocho” sangrita! This was a well deserved win, especially since last year Rich was on his way to compete in the finals when his batch spilled in the car. Good luck Rich!  I will be rooting for you at Tales!