There’s a global pandemic causing massive social and economic disruption, and millions of families are quarantined, with work and school still happening in many homes.
So…who couldn’t go for a drink right about now?
The two Lower Saucon Township moms who began ROOT Crafted Cocktail Mixers with little more than an affinity for organic mixology and a dream would like to help you craft one, and they’ve even come up with a perfectly-timed promotion that will help you enjoy your libation with a friend (at a safe social distance, of course).
Trish Pepe Lauden and Diane Aemisegeo first met when they both moved into the same Saucon Valley neighborhood off Bingen Road. They developed a quick friendship and bonded over their families and mutual interests.
Saucon Valley moms Trish Pepe Lauden and Diane Aemisegeo created ROOT Crafted Cocktail Mixers with little more than a couple of cocktail shakers and a dream.
“We finally met, and after our first day we moved in together,” they joked. “The kids would play. We would make cocktails and then our husbands would join, and we would hang out every Friday night.”
Lauden and Aemisegeo are more than just cocktail connoisseurs, however. They are committed to leading healthy lifestyles in all that they do–even when mixing drinks.
“We’re very conscious about organic and healthy,” Lauden said. “We wanted to drink things we felt comfortable putting in our body.”
As they began to make cocktails more regularly, they started searching for organic cocktail mixers that were infused with herbs and other natural products, to save time.
Surprisingly, they couldn’t find any.
At that point, ingenuity became the mother of invention, and they began working on the infusions that would ultimately become ROOT Crafted Cocktail mixers.
ROOT Crafted Cocktail Mixers were born out of a desire by two Lower Saucon moms to create organic, craft cocktail mixers for themselves and their friends.
“We wanted to have something simple,” they said. “We wanted it to have the taste of a handcrafted cocktail and the simplicity of a 2-to-1.”
Currently there are six ROOT Crafted Cocktail mixers available:
- The Lemongrass, made with elderflower simple syrup and a touch of fresh lemon
- The Cuke, made with cucumber juice and lime juice muddled with elderflower simple syrup
- Hibi-Hibi, made with freshly-brewed hibiscus tea blended with lemon, lime, sugar, elderflower syrup and a touch of honey
- Au Pear, made with pear juice, lemon and a hint of orange
- The Hound, made with fresh pink grapefruit and cherry flavors plus turbinado simple syrup, which Lauden and Aemisegeo say “link arms to form a drink just like us: sweet and tart.”
- The Granada, made with pomegranate, lemon juice and lemongrass (currently sold out)
Lauden and Aemisegeo had no startup business experience prior to ROOT, so they spent the better part of two years researching things like organic juices and extracts, and working on bringing their idea to the market.
The margarita and Bloody Mary mix categories were already saturated, but craft spirits were becoming increasingly popular. And with that market about to go through a growth spurt similar to what craft beer has experienced over the past decade, the timing for ROOT Crafted Cocktail mixers couldn’t have been better, they decided.
ROOT’s Hibi-Hibi mixer is made with freshly-brewed hibiscus tea blended with lemon, lime, sugar, elderflower syrup and a touch of honey.
“People are really appreciating and demanding fresh, natural cocktails now,” they said.
Quality control is something of utmost importance at ROOT, which is why Lauden and Aemisegeo are present at each bottling to taste the mix. All of their products are produced nearby at an organic bottling company in New Jersey.
Together they currently handle all of the advertising and marketing of their products, which they supply to bars at Saucon Valley Country Club, Lehigh Country Club and other local dining establishments and event venues.
The ROOT line of organic mixers is available at the PA Fine Wine & Good Spirits store in the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, the Wine & Spirits store off Rt. 248 in Lower Nazareth Township, the Fine Wine & Good Spirits on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Allentown and other Pennsylvania liquor stores throughout the area, however state liquor stores are currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, which is why the best way to purchase them is currently online, directly from ROOT.
To help friends stay connected at a time when many can’t physically spend time together, ROOT is currently running a buy-one-get-one promotion. Through April 30, the purchase of any 16 oz. bottle includes a free bottle to send to a friend for an additional incentive to plan a future virtual hangout.
“We wanted to find some way to help right now. ROOT is all about connecting and there hasn’t been a time for a greater need to connect than now,” the partners said of the deal. “Our hope is that friends reach out to one another and virtually share a cocktail (or mocktail) and help with the isolation we are all feeling.”
Since the spread of coronavirus has caused Pennsylvanians to shelter in place, Lauden and Aemisegeo have also taken to Instagram (@rootcrafted) to regularly share recipes and updates.
Follow them there, visit the ROOT website to shop and learn more about their products, subscribe to their newsletter (and receive a discount off your first online order), find more locations where you can taste or buy ROOT mixers, save delicious recipes and more. More information about ROOT is also available via email at in**@ro*********.com.