Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/29638
Pink I 62 / the tasting panel / april 201 1 NEW CHAMBORD FLAVORED VODKA IS GIVING MIXOLOGY A MAKEOVER AND MAKING IT SWEETLY SIMPLE FOR BARTENDERS NATIONWIDE TO THINK PINK is the New Black photos by David Huff n February, THE TASTING PANEL met up with the Chambord team for a pre–Valentine’s Day party at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, AZ. With six fiercely femme bartenders offering up some pretty, rose-hued quaffs and a sophisticated consumer crowd, Chambord Flavored Vodka was painting the town pink, and we were there to capture it all. In order to bring you the best on this brand, we gathered five of the heaviest-hitting male beverage buyers in the Valley of the Sun to offer their comments on the new Chambord Flavored Vodka, and the romantic cocktails being sipped and savored under the stars. —Rachel Burkons Although the cocktails were flowing all night, Todd Grobstein of the W Hotel Scottsdale doesn’t overlook the merits of Chambord Flavored Vodka straight out of the bottle. “Off the nose, it’s some- thing you just want to drink, and then when you taste it, it’s quite palate-pleasing.” Meet our super-powered panel of judges, who proved they’re not afraid of a pink drink: (left to right) Mike Muncal, Wine and Spirits Specialist, BevMo!; Todd Grobstein, Director of Bar Operations, W Hotel Scottsdale; Todd DeSilva, Director of Food and Beverage, Montelucia Resort and Spa; Mac Gregory, Corporate Director of Food and Beverage, Starwood North America; Alex Summer, Corporate Beverage Director, RA Sushi. “I’m pretty solid with who I am as a guy,” joked Summer when asked if he minded sampling such pretty cocktails, “so anything pink is fine by me.”