Hooters Melanie Gottlieb Wins at Drinks of the Grove

All photos by Alex Broadwell

​​At Coconut Grove's Burgundy Room, you'll see everyone from the Real Housewives of the Grove downing bottles of champagne to a 70-year-old couple swallowing whole the bar's serrano ham croquetas.

And that's exactly how they expect it.

At last night's Drinks of the Grove, reps from local bars assembled at the Cocowalk watering hole to showcase the neighborhood's favorite drinks. Although it was a contest to see which bartender collected the most tickets by the end of the night, the event definitely had a community feel.

"All the owners and general managers are friends. It's definitely a friendly competition," said Burgundy Room general manager Marshall Crane. "We want to make this like a Cheers bar, where everyone knows your name."

The turnout also reflected the small neighborhood vibe. The bar was a little less than crowded, and only five of the ten expected bartenders showed up for the competition, but plenty of coworkers and local professionals came out to support the businesses.

Each bartender created either an original cocktail or a signature house drink. In the end, each one walked away with a $50 gift certificate to the Burgundy Room, but Hooters' classic margarita made by Melanie Gottlieb came in at number one, winning her a one night stay at the Sonesta Bayfront Hotel in the Grove.

If you want to make it yourself, here's the winning recipe, followed by the others.

Groveites kept it simple with a classic margarita.

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Mr. Moe's joanna Alvarez made her own twist on a mojito.

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Jennifer Ojeda and Mariette Anzueto mixed the Burgundy Room's signature Veev-a-licious.

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The Sandbar Hurricane made by Nedje Syvlestre.

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Fat Tuesday's Ken Navarro created The Eye of the Storm for the event.

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