Vancouver Mojito Challenge Winners

The Vancouver Foodster Mojito Challenge was a great success featuring unique creations at restaurants around Metro Vancouver.  Each restaurant featured their creation on their menu from July 8-31, 2022 and their customers voted for their favourites daily throughout the challenge for their People’s Choice favourites. Our media judging panel determined the ultimate winners of the challenge, and this was quite the task as each judge who tasted each creation with a rigorous process based on taste, originality/uniqueness and presentation/appearance.

The Winners are:

1st Place:

{113 points}

Odd Society Spirits collab with Hai Tea

Green Dream Mojito Slushy

Price:  $12

Created by: Mia Glanz

Description: A fruit and citrus minty melony lime green slushy! Odd Society Wallflower Gin and seasonal elderflower liqueur team up with Hai Tea Mojito to create an unforgettable, unbelievably thirst-quenching mojito slushy experience.

Ingredients: Odd Society Elderflower Liqueur, Wallflower Gin, Midori Melon Liqueur, Hai Tea Mojito, Arugula + Mint syrup, Lime

Odd Society Spirits

1725 Powell St,, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 559-6745

Web: https://www.oddsocietyspirits.com/

Instagram @oddsocietyspirits and @haiteabeverages

2nd Place (TIE):

{101 points}

Diva at the Met

Gardener’s Mojito

Price: $16

Created by: Thomas Goodine – Bartender

Description: A little bit of everything – sweet, savory, and citrusy. The perfect summer cocktail mix.

Ingredients: Bacardi White Rum, Aperol, Dubonnet, House made cherry tomato juice, Grapefruit, Lime, No Sugar Added, Mint Garnish

Diva at the Met

(inside the Metropolitan Hotel)

645 Howe St, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 602-7788

Web: https://www.opentable.ca/r/diva-at-the-met-metropolitan-hotel-vancouver

Instagram @diva_met

2nd Place (TIE):

{101 points}

Food by Fanta

Mojito SunRise

Price $13

Created by: Parinya Loptson

Description: Brighten up this year’s cool grey Summer with the golden hue of Peach and Apricot ice with a touch of Thai & French herbs while still keeping the traditional flavours of Cuba with Havana Club Rum.

The experience is elevated with house-made clarified Thai lemongrass, Pandan leaves, mint, lime cordial, garnished with mint sprigs and a spritz of French herb liqueur.

Ingredients: Clarified herbal lime cordial: Mint, lime juice, lime zest, lemongrass & Pandan leaves water, citric acid, agar agar.

Drink:Rum, Clarified herbal lime cordial, club soda, mint leaves, small diced peach & apricot ice.

Food by Fanta

20542 Fraser Hwy, Langley

Tel; (604) 530-6803

Web: https://foodbyfanta.com/

Instagram @foodbyfanta

3rd Place:

{99 points}

1927 Lobby Lounge

Bajan Mojito

Price: $19

Created by: The team

Description: Keeping Vancouver summer in mint rejuvenate with Bajan Mojito, which is made using premium rum and a twist.

Ingredients: Mount Hay Eclipse, Palm Sugar, mint, Charred lime

1927 Lobby Lounge (inside the Rosewood Hotel Georgia)

801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver

Tel:(604) 682-5566

Web:https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/hotel-georgia-vancouver/dining/1927-lobby-lounge

Instagram @rosewoodhotelgeorgia

In the People’s Choice Awards category, the public who tried the Mojito Creations were the ones who had the opportunity to cast their vote throughout the challenge.

The Winners are:

1st Place People’s Choice:

Odd Society Spirits collab with Hai Tea

Green Dream Mojito Slushy

Price:  $12

Created by: Mia Glanz

Description: A fruit and citrus minty melony lime green slushy! Odd Society Wallflower Gin and seasonal elderflower liqueur team up with Hai Tea Mojito to create an unforgettable, unbelievably thirst-quenching mojito slushy experience.

Ingredients: Odd Society Elderflower Liqueur, Wallflower Gin, Midori Melon Liqueur, Hai Tea Mojito, Arugula + Mint syrup, Lime

Odd Society Spirits

1725 Powell St,, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 559-6745

Web: https://www.oddsocietyspirits.com/

Instagram @oddsocietyspirits and @haiteabeverages

2nd Place People’s Choice:

Moltaqa Restaurant

Sunset in Marrakesh

Price: $13.50

Created by: Anastasiia Goncharova

Description: We infused apricots and Moroccan spices inside the rum bottle, creating a new twist on the classic mojito. Then we mix spiced rum with traditionally made Moroccan mint tea, add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and Moroccan vanilla cherry jam as a sweetener. The combination of colours (red, yellow and green) symbolises the sunset sky in Marrakesh.

Ingredients: 2 oz spiced dark rum, 2 oz lemon juice, 5 oz traditional Moroccan mint tea, Moroccan cherry jam and Moroccan spices as garnish (all spice mix)

Moltaqa Restaurant

51 W Hastings Street, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 696-4055

Web: https://www.moltaqarestaurant.ca/

Instagram: @moltaqa.vancouver

3rd Place People’s Choice:

Diva at the Met

Gardener’s Mojito

Price: $16

Created by: Thomas Goodine – Bartender

Description: A little bit of everything – sweet, savory, and citrusy. The perfect summer cocktail mix.

Ingredients: Bacardi White Rum, Aperol, Dubonnet, House made cherry tomato juice, Grapefruit, Lime, No Sugar Added, Mint Garnish

Diva at the Met

(inside the Metropolitan Hotel)

645 Howe St, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 602-7788

Web: https://www.opentable.ca/r/diva-at-the-met-metropolitan-hotel-vancouver

Instagram @diva_met

Each media judge scored each creation with a maximum of 40 points as follows: Overall Taste 20 points, Originality and Uniqueness 10 points, Presentation and Appearance 10 points. The highest number of points a challenge creation could have been awarded is 120 points.

Our Media judges for this challenge were: Emma Clark, Jessica Chan and Tara Lee.

Thank you to all the chefs, bartenders and restaurants that accepted my invitation and featured the Mojito Challenge creations on the menu for the past few weeks during this challenge.

I encourage you to visit the winning restaurants to try their Mojito creations!

By: Richard Wolak