Make Mine a Double

Please Hold the Preservatives & High Fructose Corn Syrup

—Fresh Victor founder Ken MacKenzie’s a-ha! Moment

Ken MacKenzie grew up in Menlo Park, surrounded by a large, gregarious family. “I knew at an early age that I whatever I did for a living it would involve bringing people together. No one was surprised when I went into the spirits business,” he tells me over lunch.

Following his now-wife to her home country of Mexico after college, he began his professional life as a consultant helping tequila producers understand the complex liquor regulations in the U.S. Back then, premium tequila was not as ubiquitous north of the border, and internationally, as it is now. It was either the wildly expensive bottles, or the “rot-gut, let’s get drunk in college” brands that I had my fair share of experience with.

Eventually, Ken and his wife launched their own premium tequila brands. “Building tequila brands meant I had a lot of educating to do, and I discovered that I had a love for it, using my own unique approach: embracing tequila education with entertaining. I’d invite my industry friends to our home for dinner and drinks and make these intricate cocktails. The only problem was, I found myself behind the bar most of the evening and really didn’t even have the time to sit down for a proper dinner.”

“For years I spent a good deal of my time flying all over the country conducting tequila seminars for wine and spirit distributors, as well as national restaurant accounts. During one of my seminars, a VP of sales approached me and asked a very good question: ‘Do you realize that several of the cocktails you demonstrated took five to six minutes to make? Customers don’t want to wait six minutes for a cocktail. Do you have a cheat code to mix it faster?’”

That one question set the stage for the launch of Fresh Victor. “I wanted to make it easier and faster for at-home hosts and on-premises bartenders to make delicious craft cocktails with exceptionally high-quality ingredients. I knew it took a lot of time not just to make drinks, but also in the days spent sourcing ingredients, squeezing fresh citrus juices, chopping, adding herbs, muddling, tasting—and most of all creating absolute consistency when buying fruit as a commodity. It occurred to me that if I was able to take the pain points away from sourcing [and processing] fresh ingredients, it would make folks’ lives a whole lot easier. That was my a-ha moment for creating Fresh Victor.”

“The cocktail mixer category has a bad reputation as most people have only been exposed to neon-green shelf-stable offerings that are comprised of concentrates, preservatives and have a high caloric content due to the use of artificial sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup. Fresh Victor offers something completely new.” Ken goes on to point out, “After all, mixers make up a large percentage of the cocktail that people are meant to enjoy.”

Fresh Victor’s current nine different cold-pressed cocktail mixers are fresh, so look for them on the refrigerated shelves in your local grocer. They can also be used to make creative alcohol-free drinks, or enjoyed by themselves, over ice.

“It is so rewarding to see someone drinking a margarita using our Mexican Lime & Agave mixer right next to someone drinking the Mexican Lime & Agave mixed with just sparkling water. People no longer have to feel that they are limited to a bottle of water or a can of soda if they are choosing not to drink alcohol,” Ken tells me, his wide smile telegraphing that this latest venture is one more step on his lifelong path of bringing people together.