A new Cincinnati company is bringing you a different way to cocktail. Mixicles, founded by longtime friends Jen Morales and Jason Stitt, is a line of frozen cocktail mixing cubes.
Each ice cube is non-alcoholic — perfect for making a fun mocktail — but Mixicles’ website also has a host of recommendations for what alcohol goes best with each flavor.
“Mixicles make it as easy to craft a perfectly balanced cocktail as it is pour a glass of wine," says Stitt, Mixicles' CFO. "You simply top a cube with your spirit or beverage of choice, and enjoy as the flavors unfold and infuse your drink."
So far, there are nine fruity and herbal combos: cucumber lime sage, blueberry lemon basil, jalapeno citrus, cranberry rose, elderflower lemon mint, lavender peach, orange blossom pomegranate, blackberry lemon thyme and smoked black cherry.
Morales and Stitt — former law colleagues whose “friendship blossomed over drinks,” says Morales — love craft cocktails but didn’t make them at home because of the time, effort and cost involved.
“We were also frustrated by the artificial taste and short shelf-life of most mixers available on the market,” says Morales, Mixicles president and CEO.
So they came up with the idea for Mixicles in the fall of 2018 and enrolled in a 12-week class at Findlay Kitchen that taught attendees how to take an idea and turn it into a business.
After completing the course, Morales and Stitt joined Findlay Kitchen as members, where they spent a majority of the next year developing flavors, designing packaging and sourcing ingredients for Mixicles.
They hosted a soft launch in early 2020, selling Mixicles at Findlay Market. But the pandemic put many of their plans and ideas on pause.
Though some businesses had to close during COVID, Mixicles was able to offer delivery, curbside pick-up, virtual cocktail demonstrations and virtual happy hours, all while polishing their online store, which launched in November 2020.
The brand officially premiered at the Winter Market at Washington Park this past December.
"(Winter Market was the) first of several events where Mixicles was spotlighted during the rollout of our new website and nationwide shipping," says Morales. "Our roots, however, are here in Cincinnati, and we're excited to support our local community.”
Mixicles can be ordered online and shipped in bundles of four for $80. The bundles are also available for local pick-up.
If you’d like to purchase less than four packs, you can visit some of Mixicles’ local vendors: ETC Produce & Provisions, Madison’s at Findlay Market, The Cottage Paperie & Gifts and Crafts & Vines.
For more info, visit mixicles.com.