Irvington’s Award-Winning, Locally-Sourced Cocktail

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February 26, 2025

By Shana Liebman–

This Friday, February 28, Red Hat on the River will introduce an award-winning cocktail: The Darth Veda, created by Irvington resident Melinda Chappelear, who won the Veda Mushroom Liquor cocktail contest at Irvington’s wine and spirits store, Savvy Sips.

Rachel Tieger, the owner of Savvy Sips and a self-declared mushroom lover, says she was immediately intrigued by Veda Mushroom Liquor, an earthy, slightly savory mushroom liquor which blends shiitake mushrooms, honey, maple syrup and botanicals.

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“I am always looking for interesting, local products and was excited that Veda was made in Beacon, New York, using local ingredients. I also loved the package and wanted to show it off in the window,” Tieger says. “My distributor rep built the ingeniously creative window display using natural and recycled materials (newspapers, corks, paper towel rolls, local sand, bottles, and coat hangers) to create giant, paper mache mushrooms growing out of empty Veda bottles passing through a rotten log.”

Savvy Sips window display by Monika Riley of Regal Imports

This window display caught the attention of Melinda Chappelear, a real estate sales agent with Corcoran Legends Realty in Irvington. “I bought a bottle the next time I hosted friends,” she says. “I was intrigued with the idea of a mushroom liquor, how it might taste and how it might play in cocktails.”

A few weeks later, Tieger announced a mixology contest, challenging contestants to use the mushroom liquor in creative cocktails.

Chappelear says that her daughter Zoe encouraged her to enter the contest, and the process quickly became a family affair. “Our kitchen looked like an amateur science lab — post-it note labels, lines of small glasses and precision measuring,” she laughs. After some research, the Chappelear family came up with a warm combination of Veda, Lambrusco and bitters.

“The Darth Veda is a sparkling aperitif — soft bubbles of tart raspberry mixed with notes of mushroom, honey and maple syrup and spiked with spicy bitters,” says Melinda. Her son, Liam, named the invention after a Star Wars villain and added a lightsaber stirrer.

Veda’s Jeremy Block, Adam Starowicz and Andreas Sanidiotis judge the cocktail competition at Savvy Sips.

The Savvy Sips contest was held in November 2024. Veda’s makers/owners, Jeremy Block, from Pleasantville, and Adam Starowicz, who lives in Pound Ridge, along with their brand ambassador Andreas Sanidiotis, judged the entries on a scale of 1-100.

“There were four contestants who all made very cool and unique cocktails,” Block says. “The other three were a peppercorn/Szechuan rum cocktail, a mulled wine, and a Scandinavian Alpine one.”

The scores were extremely close, according to Block, but the Darth Veda tipped the scales with its creativity and family-collaboration origin.

Veda Mushroom Liquor co-owner Adam Starowicz, Savvy Sips Owner Rachel Tieger, Melinda Chappelear, Zoe Chappelear, and Veda co-owner Jeremy Block celebrate the win.

In addition to prizes, including a $250 gift certificate to Savvy Sips, a $250 charitable donation (Chappelear chose Refettorio Harlem, a food assistance charity), and a bottle of Veda, the Darth Veda will be featured on the Red Hat’s cocktail menu from February 28 through March 2.

Giusy Verni, co-owner of the Red Hat, says the restaurant has been championing Veda since last year, and she is pleased to be joining in on the local love. “We are proud to feature the winner of the Veda contest at our restaurant,” she says. “We consider it a great opportunity to share our space with the community.”

Cocktail connoisseurs can also make the recipe (below) at home; Savvy Sips stocks Veda and is hosting a tasting of the mushroom liquor this Friday, February 28 (4-7 pm).

“I really appreciate Rachel’s knowledge of the wine and spirits industry and her commitment to featuring unique and specialty products,” Chappelear says. “Every time I enter Savvy Sips, I get an education.”

How to Make a Darth Veda:

2 parts chilled Lambrusco di Modena
1 part chilled Veda Mushroom Liquor
A few dashes of LabelMaker Spicy Pepper Bitters, to taste

Mix ingredients and serve

Try Veda Mushroom Liquor at the Savvy Sips Tasting on Friday, 4-7 pm. The Darth Veda will be served at Red Hat on the River from Friday-Sunday.

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