Belvedere in the sky

On Monday night, I attended an event hosted by Belvedere Vodka at Departure Bar. The event was held in celebration of the launch of Belvedere’s newest vodka infusion, Lemon Tea. (Mix it with some iced tea and a splash of lemonade and you’ve got yourself the best adult Arnold Palmer you’ve ever tasted!)

Departure is about the closest you can get to a LA-style bar in Portland, a city known more for it’s hip than chic venues. Located on the roof of the iconic Nines Hotel, Departure also happens to have one of the best achievable views of downtown in the entire city. When you’re up there, out in the open, you literally feel like you’re floating over all the shops and businesses below you. (The “floating” feeling could also partially be attributed to all the vodka, but who’s keeping track?!) It’s pretty awesome.

I took my friend/”acting publicist” Joani to the event as my Plus One. Together we sampled the new tea vodka, as well as Belvedere’s past few years of infused creations. In addition to the brand new Lemon Tea vodka, the Bloody Mary and Pink Grapefruit vodkas are also divine. Of course, I’d expect nothing less from these $50 bottles.

I also had the opportunity to sit down and interview Clair Smith. Clair is a wonderful woman who holds the title of Head of Spirit Creation & Mixology at Belvedere. She told me a little bit about the soul of the brand and gave me some ideas for delicious summer cocktail recipes, which I’ll share in my next post.

But for now, because this is first and foremost a personal style blog, here are a few photos of what I wore to the rooftop party on this cool, overcast summer evening.