Black Rock's Aunt Whiskey's Founded Out of 'Necessity'

Courtney Whiting's aboveground planter was bursting with tomatoes, herbs, spices, and vegetables -- and creating a Bloody Mary mix with her excess of plants became a "necessity."  

Whiting, a Black Rock resident, created a Bloody Mary mix with a kick -- the vegetable juice-based mix includes wasabi and hickory smoke flavors.  

"The taste changes as you sip," she said.  

The mix -- dubbed "Aunt Whiskey's Smoking Hot Bloody Mary Mix" -- came with Whiting to restaurants and bars, where she would make her own Bloody Marys while out for brunch.  

Her companion began to catch on with bartenders and liquor store/eatery owners --so much that Whiting decided to bottle Aunt Whiskey and see where the venture could take her.  

Since she began making the mix in the fall of 2011, Aunt Whiskey has done well -- it's featured in over 100 liquor stores, restaurants, and bars in the state and was stationed at Saturday's Pop Shop Market in Fairfield.  

Some of its popularity can be credited to its dual-purpose nature, Whiting said. Customers can use Aunt Whiskey's mix to cook.  

"If you don't finish it in Bloody Marys on a Sunday, throw it together with some chicken," Whiting said.  

Learn more about Aunt Whiskey's here.