Besides the kick they give the local economy, visitors are good for reminding residents of certain eternal truths about life in the Gulfshore. First, each evening's sunset requires reverent attention, complete with wild applause at the finish. And second and perhaps even more important: Hand-crafted ales and cult cabernets, tasty and tasteful though they may be, have nothing on a colorful, cold, umbrella-bedecked drink for capturing the flavor of our region.

But which tropical drink, exactly? Why settle for a generic margarita or dull daiquiri if you can experience the true taste of the Gulfshore, a sip of which will take you someplace better than Margaritaville? Like the region itself, such a drink would be fun but elegant, attractive and intriguing. Its various flavors and influences would blend into one creative mix. Add a catchy name and some swanky glassware, and you'd have the perfect Southwest Florida spirit.

We asked seven bartenders from local restaurants and hotels to put their greatest Gulfshore drink to the test. Then we selected a panel of lucky judges, and invited them to assemble just before sunset at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, a Gulfshore landmark for 50 years.

Our panel included Naples attorney and officially licensed "Memphis in May" barbecue judge (don't ask) David Arizmendi; Sherie Brezina, savvy head of Florida Gulf Coast University's new hospitality and resort studies program; Bob Jones, hip owner of Fort Myers' Silver Platter record store and bass guitarist in local band Poor Richard and the Almanacs; Gulfshore Life's senior editor, Tracy Jones, Bob's wife and biggest fan; Cape Coral novelist Jeffry Lindsay, whose Darkly Dreaming Dexter recently received raves from the New Yorker; Barry Marcus, co-owner and scene-stealer at the Naples Dinner Theatre; and Lou Weston, longtime bartender at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club.

The hotel gave us our own private tiki hut on the rambling grounds, with a view of the Gulf before us. Fortified by chicken satay and oversized coconut shrimp, the judges were given their scorecards and told to assign points for each drink's appearance, taste, name and how creatively it set itself apart from the piña colada pack. (It was a blind tasting, so no one knew which bartender and restaurant had prepared each drink.)

Smiling servers showed off a garnished version of each drink in the proper glassware before serving a round of smaller tastes. (But our quick-thinking judges nabbed most of the bigger drinks off the trays for further perusal, and a few favorites ended up with two or three straws stuck in them.)

Drink No. 1, the Hyatt Regency's Coconut Tree by bartender Robert Azzam, made sweet work of Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay rum, Midori, and cranberry and orange juices. With its warm oranges and yellows melding above a splash of green, Sherie Brezina suggested the drink might better be named after the sunset it clearly resembled. ("Or they could serve it in a broccoli-shaped glass," mused Jeff Lindsay.) Whatever they called it, the judges agreed, this drink packed a powerful after-punch.

Drink No. 2 was in fact named after a sunset, and with its tropical colors and a peach-infused blend of fruity flavors, the Ritz-Carlton's Naples Sunset went down as smoothly as that orb in the sky. Bartender Jason Kohn mixed Bacardi Superior rum, peach schnapps, cherry, orange and pineapple juices for a fun drink that eschewed the expected umbrella for an oh-so-elegant orchid garnish.

For Drink No. 3, the Lunatic Martini, bartender Olesya Ostryzhna of the Registry Resort's Luna Ultralounge mixed a smooth but lethal blend of Stoli raspberry, apple pucker, Southern Comfort and sour mix. After just one sip, most judges joined Bob Jones in declaring a tropical martini to be exactly what had been missing in their heretofore fulfilling lives. A couple of judges were surprised to be able to taste the alcohol, but the others assured them that was a good thing. "Great drink for a good time," rhapsodized Barry Marcus, while even quiet Lou Weston noted that this one would "knock your socks off."

Judges cooed over the cotton candy colors of Drink No. 4, the Dock on the Bay, from Naples' Dock restaurant. Tag-team bartenders John McKerrow and Anthony Scandaliato mixed a long list of ingredients, including raspberry and ice cream maui mixes, orange and pineapple juices, banana liqueur and several varieties of spiced rum. This could have been the ultimate girlie drink, one judge noted, but instead it had a fresh and bracing taste. "I wanted to love this," said Lindsay. "And on second taste, I did!"

It isn't nice to mock Mother Nature, which may be why the skies opened up as judges were served Drink No. 5, 'Tween Waters' Category Four, a saucy homage to the hurricane that hit Captiva Island, complete with an inside-out umbrella garnish. But the rain just cooled and cleansed the air while leaving our panel snug as they sipped bartender Karen Souhlaris' blend of strawberry and piña colada mixes, Bacardi light rum and Myers dark rum, topped with a 151 float. The robust coconut flavor of the pretty red-and-white drink blew away David Arizmendi, who was inspired to rhyme: "Tropical and topical, don't make me stopical."

"Look, a rainbow," said one judge. "Now I know you've been drinking," said another, but bands of colors did indeed march across the sky as our panel considered the equally vivid Drink No. 6, the Asian Sunset, prepared by Blu Sushi's Kelly Allen. The drink's deep red layer came courtesy of an unexpected cabernet float, which topped a blend of Parrot Bay rum, mango liqueur, pineapple and orange juices and mango nectar. One judge attributed the drink's intriguing complexity to "tomato," but once he was informed the server had actually said "mango," the panel decided they liked this cross-cultural concoction.

As the panel waited for Drink No. 7, the final entry, they mused that they had had good drinks and great drinks, but they hadn't yet had a drink that would make a visitor call the moving company in Ohio. Toucan Grille's Gilligan's Island, prepared by owner James Kintz, was about to change that. "The sweetness of Mary Ann with the punch of Ginger," said Arizmendi of this mix of Malibu rum, banana liqueur and pineapple and cranberry juices. Even banana haters raved over this one, right down to the colorful mosaic stemware.

When the scores were totaled, no one was surprised that Drink No. 7 rose to the top. (Their ability to review their own scores perhaps a bit in question at this point, every judge had written "This is the winner!" under that drink's slot on their scorecard.) Tying for second place: 'Tween Waters' Category Four and Luna Ultralounge's Lunatic Martini.

Their duty done (and the coconut shrimp long gone), a few of the panel walked to the hotel's Sunset Beach Bar, where the sky unrolled the last few minutes of its final show. Although there was no fabled green flash, Weston, back to manning the bar, declared he'd seen it many, many times. To make up for our disappointment, he poured one of his own midori-enhanced Green Flashes, a heady end to a happy day's work.

Special thanks to Jim Anderson and staff at the Naples Beach Hotel & Gulf Club and Gulfshore Life promotions coordinator Rena Arellano.