Starting yesterday and until Monday November 14, there’s another way you can make your vote count – and thankfully it’s not so heavy as the future of this country and your local government that will be decided. Instead, this is a more fun election: a VoteSom Cocktail Election, aka Pok Pok’s #VoteSom Election Week Cocktail Competition.

Pok Pok Som Drinking Vinegar is doing an election-inspired cocktail competition event called #VoteSom happening at bars all around Portland. All of the participating bars were offered three seasonal flavors of Pok Pok Som drinking vinegar to choose from:

• Cranberry
• Szechuan Peppercorn
• Honey

The participating bar then used that flavor and their creativity to create a cocktail candidate which will be on their menu for the next two weeks. During that time, anyone can go out and try the cocktails, then visit Pokpoksom.com/vote-som to VOTE for the cocktail they think is the best! The winning drink recipe will be featured on the Pok Pok Som website so you can recreate it at home to impress your friends or enjoy as many as you want without judgement!

Below are the participating bars and their cocktail ‘candidates’ launching on menus for the 2016 VoteSom Cocktail Election. I’m going to be possibly doing a little cocktail tour next week to check out what are the positions of each of these candidates.

• American Local – “Oh! Pear” – Pear gastrique, orgeat, Pok Pok Som Honey drinking vinegar, El Dorado 3 year Rum, Angostura Bitters (3003 SE Division St)
• NePo 42 – “Bigly” with muddled cucumber, lime, cilantro, simple syrup, mezcal, averna, soda, and the Pok Pok Som Szechuan Peppercorn drinking vinegar with a sugar cayenne pepper rim (5403 NE 42nd Ave)
  
• Southpark Seafood – “Lil’ Som Som” – Whiskey, Applejack Brandy, Pok Pok Som Cranberry drinking vinegar, and a dash of House Made Cinnamon Bitters (901 SW Salmon St)
  
• Spud Monkey’s – “The Monkey Smash” – Muddled Lemons, Vanilla 360, Pok Pok Som Cranberry drinking vinegar, Splash Sour, Sugar Rim (17312 NE Halsey St)
• StormBreaker Brewing – “This Cocktail is Rigged” – Espolon Reposado tequila, Pok Pok Som Cranberry drinking vinegar, lime juice, StormBreaker Brewing ‘When I Froot’ blood orange-conditioned blonde ale (832 N Beech St)
  
• Swift & Union – “Bad Sombre” – Hendricks Gin, Pok Pok Som Honey drinking vinegar, Angostura bitters, Lemon and simple syrup, this cocktail will also be their featured happy hour cocktail for $5 M-F 4 PM – 6 PM! (8103 N Denver Ave)
  
• Tabor Tavern – “Pick Poket” –  Prairie Cucumber vodka, Orchard apricot liquor, Pok Pok Som Szechuan Peppercorn drinking vinegar, club soda (5325 E Burnside St)
  
• The Liquor Store {not a real liquor store} – “Not just Som Toddy” – Hot toddy with bourbon, lemon, raw organic honey, Pok Pok Som Cranberry drinking vinegar, and a splash of orange juice.(3341 SE Belmont St)
   

I’m a fan of Pok Pok Som multiple flavors because the sour acidity that the drinking vinegar offers in a cocktail or even just with club soda is really refreshing. If you have not heard of Pok Pok Som before, they originated from Pok Pok and are a variety of sweet and tart fruit and vinegar based concentrate available in different flavors.

I’m really intrigued by the one from South Park Seafood (and I also love whiskey), and the one with beer from Stormbreaker Brewing. South Park Seafood, by the way, was the winner of the last cocktail competition with Pok Pok Som during the past summer with their Brandy Ginger Som Sour.

Which of these sounds intriguing to you or are you tempted to go try?