Dia de los muertos

Dia de los Muertos and the birth of Malacopa Cocktail Mixers

It was late October 2006, when I first experienced Dia de los Muertos in Mexico. I was on assignment in Mexico City, opening Nemi for Chef Michael Mina. The Team and I were in Morelia for the wedding of our Executive Chef. We had a day free from the wedding festivities to go to Patzcuaro. This small town comes alive for dia de los Muertos. The town square, is ornately decorated with orange marigold, painted skulls and dimly lit by candle light.

The smells and tastes of hot chocolate with cinnamon accompanied by pan muertos scented with rose water. Live music on every corner. We went for a walk around the neighborhood. We weren’t really familiar with the town so we were just following the procession of people, which led us to the graveyard. The graveyard was a mix of in-ground and mausoleum style graves. People brought flowers, candles, snacks and tequila to honor their ancestors. This was a new experience for me to see people who were in celebration with their ancestors. In an American graveyard, you would really only see people there to grieve the loss of a loved one. But, here was a celebration to honor the lost family members.

The reverence of how the life/death cycle was interrupted was completely new to me. I was amazed and awed by how foundmential correct it felt to actually celebrate the dead. This dichotomy of grief is balanced by celebration of the dead. A duality of morning for loss, while celebrating it at the same time.

These ideas, images, tastes and smells have been with me for years and became the inspiration for Malacopa. The Term “Mala copa”, literally translates to bad drink or bad cup. But, is actually a derogatory term for someone who is being a drunk idiot. While Malacopa mixers is about making the best quality cocktails at the bar or home to be enjoyed spirited, low or no ABV. This created a tongue-n-cheek duality of meaning and the DNA for Malacopa Cocktail Mixers.

On the road updates from “Team Malacopa”

October has been a busy month with production and sales. The production team in Atotonilco has been working hard wrapping up the last pieces of the production before we ship to Las Vegas.

Sales in Las Vegas has taken off, followed by sales in Manhattan. We are also preparing our distribution in Las Vegas and signing a distributor in NYC.