Ivy Mix (born c. 1985) is an American bartender. 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 award ...

-nominated bar Leyenda in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. She co-founded Speed Rack alongside

Lynnette Marrero Lynnette Marrero is an American bartender, mixologist, and philanthropist known for creating the world's first all-female speed bartending competition, " Speed Rack." She is widely regarded as one of the pioneer female cocktail-specific bartend ...

. Mix was named Best American Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail 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 of ...

. 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. When Mix was nineteen, she was visiting

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

. She visited Café No Sé, where she tasted mezcal 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, 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 ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Career

In 2008, Mix left Guatemala and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to pursue a career in the arts. She worked at Gagosian Gallery. 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 throwback culture. This inspired her to co-found Speed Rack with fellow bartender

, giving female bartenders a space to be showcased while raising money for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. Mix began working for

Julie Reiner Julie Reiner (born 1973–1974) is an American mixologist, club owner, and author. Reiner is one of New York's most influential bar owners, having established the Flatiron Lounge, Lani Kai, and the Clover Club. Major publications have featured Rei ...

, 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. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...

. 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 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 Hu ...

. Mix enjoys drinking sherry, wine and Negronis.

Personal life

Mix lives in the Crown Heights 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 Year of birth uncertain 1985 births