Smaller Bottle: The Bloody Mary Co. is packaged in a 16-ounce bottle to prevent food waste and to offer an alternative to the gallon jugs of Bloody Mary mix commonly found in stores. They are packaged by Redlaw Sauce Co. in Golden.

Nick Lazzara has hosted a Thanksgiving Open House the last 15 years where he made Bloody Marys and hot buttered rum. His guests would always compliment on the mix and encourage him to bottle it and sell it. Lazzara laughed at the idea in the early days but the group would come up with fun names including Harry Larrys.

Today, his Bloody Mary mix is no laughing matter. Lazzara launched The Bloody Mary Co. with his wife Molly after a successful event in the Fall of 2017. They placed second in the Bloody Mary festival after making 15 gallons in their kitchen. After this showing, The Bloody Mary Co. was born.

The Bloody Mary Co. uses all fresh ingredients. “We use all fresh products,” said Nick Lazzara, founder of The Bloody Mary Co. “We use fresh carrots and celery and grind them up. We take full pickles and put pickles into the mix so you get the pickle flavor. Same with the olives. We are not putting the juice of the olives in the brine. We take the all-natural olives and put those into the mix. All of our peppers are fresh.”

Beyond the freshness of the product, it is conveniently packaged in 16-ounce bottles. Most consumers will drink one or two Bloody Marys so the 16-ounce bottle works for most. “We have 16-ounce bottle sizes because I don’t like food waste,” said Lazzara. “To have a high-quality product sitting on your refrigerator shelf going bad didn’t make any sense.”

The other important thing to note is the lower sodium in the product. “In the craft Bloody Mary space, we are half the sodium of anyone on the market,” said Lazzara. That doesn’t mean the spice is sacrificed.

“Our goal is to position this as a spicy tomato drink,” said Lazzara. “Spice Up Your Day with a premium beverage alternative with breakfast or lunch. People run to the coffee shop at 3 p.m., but we’d love for them to grab a spicy CBD tomato drink to relax so it’s easier to focus as you wrap up the day.”

Full Spectrum CBD itself has anxiety benefits; Bloody Mary Co.’s relaxing spicy tomato drink contains 45mg of full spectrum CBD, tested by an independent lab to be free of THC and other byproducts. “CBD is a healthy alternative and we thought it would be good to bring it to the Bloody Mary market,” said Lazzara.

CBD: The Bloody Mary Co.’s CBD mix is an alternative to coffee that can be consumed on its own for relaxation benefits.

The Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce has served as a good avenue for this new company as well. “The Chamber events are always a great way to meet people and it’s a tight network of individuals that have had some successes and failures in business,” said Lazzara. “It’s great to have a nice setting where it is fun B2B conversations where you can sit and learn about what somebody does. At one of the events at The Bull & Bush, I met a florist and a bakery owner and I’ve sent people up to both since. Promoting the restaurants around town is important and it’s a good support network for individuals.”

Lazzara is hoping to use his Chamber connections to enter into food service whether it be restaurants or hotels. “We want to be in food service,” said Lazzara. “For people who serve Bloody Marys in their restaurants or hotels, this is a great food service option that has consistent flavor with a fresh taste.”

The Bloody Mary Co. is available for purchase starting at $4.99 per 16-oz. bottle at places such as JPAD Discount Liquors (560 S. Holly St.), Argonaut Wine & Liquor (760 E. Colfax Ave.), Pete’s Fruits & Vegetables (5606 E. Cedar Ave.), and The Market at Larimer Square (1445 Larimer St.). For more information and more locations to purchase, visit www.thebloodymaryco.com.