'Bar Rescue' Star Jon Taffer Released His Own Line of Cocktail Mixers
The Paramount Network reality series Bar Rescue has an effective and entertaining premise: Nightlife expert Jon Taffer comes in to help make a failing bar run better, faster, and more efficiently — usually with tough love, a little bit of yelling, and a whole lot of cleaning. One of the joys of watching Taffer’s show is the juxtaposition of his bouncer-like stature with his commitment to healing the broken relationships between the people behind many of the broken businesses he encounters (hence Taffer’s spinoff series Marriage Rescue). But back to the booze. You could say Taffer’s focus on quicker, smoother service is the same mentality he’s bringing to your home bar with a line of pre-mixed cocktail mixers.
Taffer’s Mixologist is a line of (currently) seven non-alcoholic, pre-mixed bottles of ingredients co-developed with mixologist Brian Van Flandren (the company bearing Taffer’s name is also co-founded by Launched.LA). The available cocktails include Bloody Mary, Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Mojito, Piña Colada, Skinny Margarita, and Strawberry Margarita. To curb calories (they range from 15 to 80 calories per serving, minus the alcohol), the mixes are sweetened by a combination of cane sugar, stevia leaf extract, and monk fruit extract, along with other natural flavors and juices from concentrate.
“We wanted a product that was not only delicious, but an authentic premium experience. That can only be accomplished by using high quality, natural ingredients,” Taffer said in a statement. “As important as what goes into our mixes, is what we did not add: no artificial preservatives. Not only does that create a better taste profile, but we also used healthy ingredients like monk fruit to deliver a product that has amazing flavor and is lower in calories than some other brands.”
Each 32-ounce bottle retails for under $6.00 and contains nine to 13 servings, according to the brand, and are now available in retail stores nationwide, including Walmart. “Taffer’s not only carries the Jon Taffer name, but also brings ‘The Jon Taffer Standard’ of quality with it, all while being accessible to consumers everywhere,” Launched.LA co-founder and co-CEO Sean Kane said. “Our partnership with Walmart on the launch of this first line of cocktail mixes helps us do just that.”
Of course, one of the hallmarks of Taffer's televised bar makeovers is getting the chefs and bartenders to make things from scratch with fresh ingredients. Perhaps he'll cut a little slack if the well is full of his own premix!
