The mixology revolution of recent years has stressed fresh ingredients over the canned and processed cocktail components that were once common. Mariel Goodrich, owner of Isle Bartend, has taken it one step further and established a concierge service to provide organic, personalized cocktails and mocktails for parties in Southwest Florida.
“I lost both parents to unhealthy lifestyles,” she says, “which caused me to live on a farm and grow my own fruits, vegetables, and herbs. I try to avoid chemicals and processed foods, and I pass that on to my customers.”
Goodrich began working in restaurants at the age of 15 and started behind the bar when she reached legal drinking age. At Chef & Somm in North Carolina, she was given the freedom to design the bar program and developed more than 300 recipes using organic ingredients. She opened Isle Bartend in December 2020.
The company devises a customized bar program based on the party theme. Packages range from standard pouring service to an individual “Organic Fresh Fruit Mixology Experience,” which features a fresh fruit bar with 20 selections and spirits of the client’s choice. Popular alcoholic cocktails include the Floridian (Key lime martini with a graham cracker crust) and Razzapeño (fresh-squeezed raspberry margarita). The name of her company is a playful homophone: Say it out loud and it sounds like “I’ll bartend.”
All her cocktails can be prepared in a zero-proof version; she does a Mocktail Night at St. Matthew’s House, and the fresh fruit bar is a hit at children’s parties.
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