To capture the respect for life and dedication that the Susan G. Komen Foundation demonstrates in its fight against breast cancer, TravelsinTaste.com asked its resident mixology expert, Emilio Tiburcio, to create a sexy, seductive, feminine cocktail indicative of life and survival. The result — a piece of art in a glass — was The Graceful Astia, a delicate drink that features an aggressive floral palate and a powerful, interesting finish. According to its creator, this drink takes all of the earth's beauty and puts it inside a martini glass. "I hope to give a smile to each one of you when you taste all these floral flavors and bubbles," Tiburcio says. "Each smile from you will help make the world a better place for all of us."

The Graceful Astia, named for Astia, a nonprofit that supports women entrepreneurs, develops women business leaders and assists women-led start-ups in securing funding. The drink was presented on September 29th by Astia at the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives at their Annual Awards Dinner when they honored Ambassador Nancy Brinker who founded the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Tiburcio is especially qualified to create this delightful cocktail, as he won first place in EFFEN® Vodka's "The Art of Design" competition and earned the title of EFFEN® Vodka Mixologist thanks to his Sun Burn, a concoction of vodka, pineapple juice and muddled cactus! The competition spanned Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago and Milwaukee, where premier local mixologists were invited to design cocktails in an Iron Chef-style format. Of course, Tiburcio is no stranger to competition. In fact, he also was the winner of the Amarula Experiment Throw Down, a competition during which he edged out more than 300 competitors in New Orleans' French Quarter, where competitors created three Amarula-based cocktails each: first, their winning cocktail from the semi-final competition; second, a shot; and third, a cocktail using mystery ingredients such as mini Oreo cookies, peanut butter, Dr. Pepper soda and almond extract, among others. (Amarula, for those who don't know, is a South African liqueur made from Marula fruit.) Tiburcio's other accolades include third place in the 42BELOW Cocktail World Cup 2010 Las Vegas and second place in the DonQ Rum Mix Off U.S.B.G., where he competed in the Las Vegas finals. Additionally, Tiburcio has created drinks for XENERGY using its XYIENCE energy drink and is a founding member of the creative force behind Progressive Bar Las Vegas, a beverage consulting company whose mission is to experiment with new creations, forecast future trends and generally unravel the mystery behind mixed drinks. Cognizant of the environment, Progressive Bar members use only the finest-quality spirits as their way of giving back to the environment. For example, they use TRU Vodka because for every bottle that's sold, a tree is planted in a rainforest in Central America. Tiburcio also serves as Flex Team Member at Greenbar Collective and Premier Mixologist at Dress the Drink.