Bloody Mary Festival award winners announced; $30,000 raised

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – The Market Shops, located at the entrance to Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, hosted its 6th Annual Bloody Mary Festival on October 23, raising $30,000 for Habitat for Humanity – Walton County, a record-breaking amount for the festival.

The sold-out event welcomed over 1,000 guests and featured unlimited tastes of the Emerald Coast’s most creative and inventive Bloody Marys made with Distillery 98’s local Dune Laker vodka served by 17 of the finest restaurants, bars, and catering companies in Northwest Florida.

Here are the award winners:

1st Place People’s Choice Award – The Beach House
 Combination of house-made mix, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, fresh lemon and lime juice, olive juice, hot sauce, and a spice rim. Garnished with fresh shrimp cocktail, a blue cheese stuffed olive, pickled green bean, and applewood smoked bacon.

2nd Place People’s Choice Award – Cannery Lane Cantina
Carlito’s Zesty Pao Pao Bloody Mary Mix made with 100 percent natural tomato juice, fresh horseradish, pickle juice, lime juice, and lemon juice.

3rd Place People’s Choice Award – Camille’s at Crystal Beach
Signature, classic house-made Bloody Mary garnished with the restaurant’s most popular menu items including a fried green tomato, Cubano, and peppadew pepper stuffed with espresso bacon jam and goat cheese.

A panel of select food critics and local celebrities also judged each Bloody Mary and selected the following winner as their most delicious and most creative:

Judge’s Choice Award – Signature Catering of 30A
Greek-inspired Bloody Mary made using fresh, local arugula from Greenman’s Garden, fresh dill, Meyer lemon juice, and Texas extra virgin olive oil served with dry ice. The chemical reaction from the dry ice helped enhance and infuse the olive oil and fresh herbs into the Bloody Mary creating a palatable experience.

All awards were custom-made by local artist, Maxine Orange.