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Event Fri Apr 05 2013
Club Lucky Defends Its 'Lucky' Title
Last Thursday, the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce crowned Club Lucky for a second year in a row as the Wicker Park Mixology winner at the 2nd Annual Mixiology Mash-up contest, naming "The Bohemian Tease" the official drink of Wicker Park. The contest, which kicked off last year, pitted 10 bartenders from Red Door, Club Lucky, Fatpour, Prasino and more against each other to make a signature drink that yelled Wicker Park. This year was even bigger and better at Dolphin.
There was bacon, lavender foam -- there was even a drink in a bag a la Capri Sun. But, just like last year, Club Lucky didn't disappoint both in display and presentation.
Their tropical, tea-inspired drink used all local ingredients like fresh juices from Olivia's Market, Rooibos Tea from the somewhat newly opened DAVIDsTEA and honey from the Chicago Honey Co-op, not to mention a black cherry hibiscus flower; Wicker Park apparently tastes like a winter Spring Break vacation to Hawaii without the sugary hangover.
"Last year we went with a multi-cultural theme, this year we wanted to represent the community by using all local ingredients," said winning bartender Lori Haarman.
It was obvious who the winner was going to be -- I mean, look at that presentation; when Club Lucky does something, they do it right. I voted for the cucumber infused concoction from Red Door, which came in third place, but I must say, I felt very un-Wicker Park doing it.
Since they won, Club Lucky will be featuring the winning drink on their summer menu, which means supporting more local businesses, which is awesome. I can't lie and say that I'm hoping someone else will step up next year and take the title; it just means better cocktails are in the future.
Image courtesy of Club Lucky