Competition: Cocktails and Dressing Well

Creating a good cocktail and creating a good ensemble are a very similar process when you think about it. In each instance the basic idea is to take a collection of separate parts in different quantities, blend together and present artfully, in order to create an appealing, unified whole. And, in both instances, those that are able to do so are lauded socially as possessing a marvellous talent. Think about it. Bar Tenders and Stylists – who doesn’t want either of those as a friend? Or cocktails and great style – who is turning down either of those?

My best friend and I love a good cocktail and any opportunity to dress up, and we have been planning a trip to Melbourne for a little while now to indulge in both.

So when Lady Smaggle announced that Crown Metropol and NuffNang Australia were running a competition where the prize was to fly two people to Melbourne to stay at the Crown Metropol, sample the delights of their newly opened West End, including cocktails from Lumia Bar... Well, I could barely contain my excitement.

The emphasis on cocktails in this post is because to enter the competition I have to choose which of these ten amazing cocktails available from Lumia Bar in the West End I would most like to try. After some discussion with Mags, I've decided that the cocktail I would most like to try woule have to be the Strawberry Shiraz Cobbler!

The Strawberry Shiraz Cobbler is composed of: Maker's Mark shaken with orange chunks, red wine, 'burnt orange and pink peppercorn shrub' and strawberry liqueur. There are so many things RIGHT about this flavour combination for me personally I can hardly believe that such a drink exists.

As I've never actually seen or sampled these cocktails I didn't have any images to post, so I decided I would use my mad Microsoft Paint skillz to 'Paint' all ten of the Lumia Shrub cocktails in the way that I imagine the will look. I've also started thinking of what ensembles I'll 'mix' for myself, should I be lucky enough to win the competition and fly to Melbourne to try them. One directly inspired by the Strawberry Shiraz Cobbler is already in the works...

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