Ivy Mix (born c. 1985) is an American

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

. She is head bartender and co-owner of the

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

-nominated bar Leyenda in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. She co-founded Speed Rack alongside Lynnette Marrero. Mix was named Best American Bartender of the Year at

Tales of the Cocktail Tales of the Cocktails (sometimes shortened to Tales or TotC) is an annual trade conference, festival, and gathering of cocktail and Distilled beverage, spirits industry professionals in New Orleans, Louisiana. The conference was founded in 2003 b ...

in 2015.

Early life and education

Ivy Mix grew up in

Tunbridge, Vermont Tunbridge is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the town population was 1,337. The town consists of three village centers, all situated on Vermont Route 110 in the valley of the first branch o ...

. Her parents are artists. She has an identical twin sister, Tess. As a child, Mix rode horses. She wanted to be an Olympic horseback rider when she grew up. In high school, she played lacrosse and soccer. She studied art at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

. When Mix was nineteen, she was visiting

Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...

. She visited Café No Sé, where she tasted

mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a liquor, distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. Agaves or magueys are endemic to the Americas and found globally as ornamental plants. The ''Agave'' genus is a member of the Agavoid ...

for the first time. She credits Café No Sé as introducing her to bar culture and bartending. At the bar, drinks were served on an

honor system An honor system, trust system or honesty system is a way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. The honor system is also a system granting freedom from customary surveillance (as to students or prisoners) with ...

, and Mix found herself indebted to the bar. She paid off her tab bartending. She began smuggling mezcal over the border from Mexico into

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Career

In 2008, Mix left Guatemala and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to pursue a career in the arts. She worked at

Gagosian Gallery The Gagosian Gallery is a modern and contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. As of 2024, Gagosian employs 300 people at 19 exhibiti ...

. She despised the job, calling it the worst job she ever had. She wasn't skilled at crafting cocktails, despite her knowledge of mezcal. She applied for a bartending job at

Mayahuel Mayahuel () is the female deity associated with the maguey plant among cultures of central Mexico in the Postclassic era of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology, and in particular of the Aztec cultures. As the personification of the maguey plant ...

and was turned down, only to be hired as a cocktail waitress. She gained bartending skills at Mayahuel and also at Fort Defiance. During this time, Mix noticed the majority of her colleagues were men, especially in the budding

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...

throwback culture. This inspired her to co-found Speed Rack with fellow bartender Lynnette Marrero, giving female bartenders a space to be showcased while raising money for

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. Mix began working for Julie Reiner, at Reiner's bars Lani Kai and Clover Club. Mix expressed to Reiner that she wanted to open a bar serving mezcal and Latin food. Reiner decided to invest in the bar and in 2015, Mix opened Leyenda in Brooklyn. In 2019, Leyenda was nominated for a

for outstanding bar program.

Style, cocktails and influences

Mix's style is heavily influenced by her time in Latin America and the vibrant, colorful cocktails of

tiki culture Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian cultures, and by Oceanian art. Influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia ...

. One of Mix's signature cocktails is the Tia Mia, which she created when working at Lani Kai. It is a variation on a

Mai Tai The Mai Tai ( ) is a cocktail made of rum, Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice. It is one of the characteristic cocktails in Tiki culture. History Victor J. Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his restaurant, ...

containing mezcal, Jamaican rum, orgeat, lime, and curaçao. The Tia Mia is inspired by a woman she knew in Guatemala. Two of Mix's favorite cocktail-oriented books are ''Flavor Bible'' and ''Flavor Thesaurus''. One of her favorite cocktails is the Irish Coffee at Fort Defiance in

Red Hook, New York Red Hook is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 9,953 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 11,319 in 2010. The name is supposedly derived from the red foliage on trees on a small strip of land on the H ...

. Mix enjoys drinking

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

, wine and Negronis.

Personal life

Mix lives in the

Crown Heights Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard to the so ...

neighborhood of Brooklyn.

References

External links

*
Leyenda's
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mix, Ivy American bartenders People from Tunbridge, Vermont People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople Living people 1985 births