San Diego is having a cocktail party. But not just any cocktail party, it’s a block party cocktail party.
It is the San Diego Cocktail Championship and it is taking place on Fifth Ave., in the Gaslamp Quarter on Sunday, April 28. Hosted by Rustic Root, Swing Social and Tiki Annex, the street will be blocked off from Market Street to Island Avenue, from 2-5 p.m.
This is a ticketed event and people can vote on their favorite cocktail. The price includes mini drinks from each of the 21 participating bars. General admission tickets are $49, VIP tickets are $79 and those also includes food and early access at 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
Everyone who casts a cocktals vote is automatically registered to win $2,100 worth of gift cards: $100 from each of the 21 restaurants and bars. Votes are made by posting a photo on Instagram with tags of the establishment and @cocktailchampionship. There is also online voting here.
Here is the list of participating restaurants and bars along with their featured cocktails:
Captain’s Quarters (Pacific Beach) – Captain’s Beach (Hendricks Gin, Drambuie, apple brandy, cinnamon-spiced pineapple, lemon, roasted chicory, evaporated milk)
Cococabana (Oceanside) – Jaguar Verdita (Milagro Reposada and mango liqueur, this trip to Tulum in a cocktail glass stems from Mexican green juice (“verdita”); jalapeño adds the Jaguar bite)
Fernside (South Park) – Romantic Comedy (Hendricks’s Gin, Aperol, lemon juice, simple syrup, muddled cucumber — shaken, strained and poured over rocks with cucumber garnish)
Gilly’s House of Cocktails (North Park) – Capt. Bernard’s Cure All (Tullamore D.E.W., crème de pêche, vanilla simple syrup, lemon, lime, dash of Angostura bitters)
Huntress Steakhouse (Gaslamp) – Shoot to Kill (Hendrick’s Gin, strawberry shiso shrub, Amaro Nonino, falernum, lemon, egg white)
insideOUT (Hillcrest) – Homa’s Nectar (Reyka Vodka, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, prickly pear purée, pink guava purée and fresh lime juice)
Lumi by Akira Back (Gaslamp) – Asatsuyu (Hendrick’s Gin, Soto Junmai Ginjo sake, house-made melon liqueur, cucumber rice syrup, lime, cantaloupe ice)
Moe’s (Mission Beach) – Finding Nori (Nori-infused Hendrick’s Gin, lemon, kiwi, elderflower, ginger, honey, coconut, cucumber)
Monarch Ocean Pub (Del Mar) – Life’s a Peach (Hendrick’s Gin, lemon juice, peach nectar, egg whites, orgeat)
Moonshine Flats (East Village) – Hennie Smash (cucumber, Hendrick’s Gin, lemon juice, rosemary and a splash of soda water)
OB Surf Lodge (Ocean Beach) – Hang Loose Mickey (Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum cocktail comprised of fresh ingredients including agave, lavender, coconut and lime)
Ponce’s Mexican Restaurant (Kensington) – Piña Ranchero (sweet pineapple, fiery serrano peppers and fresh lime, shaken with smooth Milagro Silver Tequila; served with jalapeño sea salt rim)
Rustic Root (Gaslamp) – Caspian Dream (Caramelized-pear-infused Monkey Shoulder Scotch Whisky, clove-infused local honey, fresh lemon. Paired with mezcal, fresh ginger-caviar pearls and a dehydrated pear slice)
Swing Social (Gaslamp) – Jerry Sponger (Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, crème de cacao, orgeat, banana meringue and walnut bitters in a caramel-and-almond-rimmed Collins glass)
Tavern at the Beach (Pacific Beach) – ImaGINary friend (Hendrick’s Gin, fresh lemon juice, sugar water, lavender syrup and egg white; topped with a rose water spritz and lemon zest)
The Butcher’s Cut Steakhouse (Gaslamp) – The Butcher’s Cut (Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum-based espresso martini with Licor 43, espresso liqueur, and Kahlua. Topped with Drambuie espresso foam)
The Holding Company (Ocean Beach) – BDE (Milagro Reposado Tequila, muddled jalapeños, carrot juice, orange juice, passionfruit syrup, lime, agave and turmeric)
The Whiskey House (Gaslamp) The Mermaid Hermosa Beach, CA– You’re Smoking Hot (Glenfiddich Scotch Whisky, chili-infused Aperol, vermouth, float of scotch and orange bitters; garnished with dried orange and red chili)
Union Kitchen & Tap (Encinitas) – Bad Moon Rising (Cucumber-and-serrano-pepper-infused Milagro Blanco Tequila, fresh lime juice, agave, tajín and celery bitters)
Union Kitchen & Tap (Gaslamp) – 1419 (Hendrick’s Gin as the base spirit, this tart, sweet, refreshing cocktail uses Limoncello for a citrus punch. Finished with fresh meringue and candied citrus swirls)
Vogue Tavern (Chula Vista) – Sour down South (Hendrick’s Gin, Chambord, Goddard Pamplemousse, simple syrup, lemon juice and foamer; garnished with fresh cucumber and jalapeño)