Thirsty Thursdays: Challenge Edition

I'm excited to announce the first ever Thirsty Thursdays Challenge today! I mean, honestly, I've been doing all the bar tending work around here, its about time I let you in on the fun. I've been meaning to do this for ages now and this month, finally, its on!

Here's the scoop: each month the challenge will feature a specific spirit or ingredient and, to enter, you will be asked to create a cocktail using that spirit or ingredient. I will choose a winner and the winner will have the honor of choosing the next spirit or ingredient for the following month. At least that's the plan so far. Let's see how it goes, as the challenge may continue to evolve. And, hopefully, I'll find a sponsor for some prizes along the way.

The spirit for this month's challenge is: Gin.

Gin is a colorless, or white, spirit that is most often distilled from grains such as wheat or rye. Traditionally, gin is flavored with juniper and usually includes a variety of botanicals, such as anise, cinnamon, orange peel, coriander, lemon, lime, licorice, etc., depending on the brand. Gin pairs beautifully with almost any kind of fruit, and any kind of herb ... so think outside the box, or bottle, if you will.

Suggested pairings might include: pomegranate, apricots, blackberries, cucumbers, ginger, honey, sage, rosemary, basil, mint, cilantro, rose water, champagne or curry powder. It goes without saying that citrus fruits are particularly well suited to pairing with gin, but I've also had great success with strawberries and watermelon. (Click those links for recipes.)

The options are endless, so use your imagination!

The Rules:

1. Create a cocktail using gin as the base and write a blog entry about it. Post your entry sometime before midnight on Thursday, April 29th. Previous blog posts in which you've offered a recipe for a gin-based cocktail will be accepted.

2. Blog about your Thirsty Thursdays Challenge cocktail, including photos, and include a link back to Beach Eats: http://beacheats.blogspot.com

3. Send an email entitled "Thirsty Thursdays Challenge" to:

ttchallenge@gmail.com

The email must include the following information:

• Your name
• The name of your blog
• The name of your cocktail
• The link to your blog entry and a photograph of your drink
• Entries must be received by midnight on Thursday, April 29th

You can still participate, even if you don't have a blog. Simply send an email with the above information, minus the blog stuff, and I will include you in the round-up.

The round-up for this month's challenge will be posted on Thursday, May 6th and a winner will be declared at that time. For this month, the winner will be lavished with praise and have the honor of choosing next month's spirit or ingredient. Prizes may appear in the future, stay tuned.

Entries will be judged on originality, creative use of ingredients, and Divaliciousness. Say what?! Divaliciousness = that certain je ne sais quoi that makes me want to make your drink.

So get out your martini shakers and mix-up something Divalicious ... I'm getting thirsty over here.

Cheers!