Tasting Arcadia

Episode 32 of Season 3 - Mario's Hard Espresso

• Karen Mac Nair • Season 3 • Episode 32

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A tiny holiday tradition can turn into something much bigger if you refuse to cut corners. On Tasting Arcadia, Karen McNair ( CEO of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce) sits down with Joe from Mario’s Hard Espresso to trace the brand back to Joe’s father, Mario, who made a small batch espresso liqueur once a year for friends and family. That “share the love” spirit still drives everything, right down to the decision to keep the recipe simple and real: true Arabica dark roast espresso, organic Madagascar vanilla, cane sugar, and a neutral grain spirit that lets the coffee shine.

For more information and tickets to the Taste of Arcadia visit TasteOfArcadia.com. 

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Taste Of Arcadia Event Preview

John Villa Announcer

Welcome to Tasting Arcadia, the official podcast of Taste of Arcadia. Taste of Arcadia is an inclusive event featuring food and drinks from the San Gabriel Valley restaurants, all for one price. Come and sample food, wine, beer, and spirits, check out our brand new cars, visit our business showcases, smile at our photos, and take it on the dance floor with me, Johnny Via from Dance Syndicate DJ Entertainment. Taste of Arcadia is September 19th at Santa Fe Depart. The fun goes from 2 to 6 p.m. with a special VIP entrance at 1 p.m. Don't forget this is a 21 and over event. Get your tickets today at TasteFarcadia.com. Now let's hear from our host, Karen McNair.

What Mario’s Hard Espresso Is

Karen Mac Nair

Well, thank you, John, for the great intro. Hello, everyone. I'm Karen McNair, the CEO at the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce. The Arcadia Chamber of Commerce hosts the wonderful event every year, Taste of Arcadia. So just like John said, I hope you're out there getting your tickets today going to TasteOfArcadia.com. Thanks for joining this podcast. The goal is for us to get to know the food and drink vendors, restaurants, um, the different places that'll be at Taste of Arcadia, so that when you get there, you can run, not even walk. You can run to your favorite vendor and get to know them a little better. So today I have Joe from Mario's Hard Expresso. Welcome, Joe.

Joe Grasso

Thank you, Karen. Well, I'm thrilled to be here. Thank you.

Karen Mac Nair

Thank you. This is season three. You were on season two with us.

Joe Grasso

Season two. That's right. This is uh my uh second go-around, so I'm very excited and thrilled to be here.

Karen Mac Nair

Yeah, we're so glad you're here. We had lots of conversations ahead of time, so I'm excited to jump in so everyone could hear. For sure. If you have not heard the other podcasts, you can always go back and listen to that episode. But we I feel like today we're gonna cover quite a bit, so we'll get you all caught up.

Joe Grasso

Great.

Karen Mac Nair

So, first of all, tell me what is Mario's Heart Espresso?

Joe Grasso

Yeah, so uh it's a very uh simple but very specific, incredibly delicious espresso liqueur, true espresso liqueur uh that's based on my father Mario. Uh his his well, he made it for about 60 years. We think it's about an 80-year-old recipe, give or take, because I've been making it for a while. Um my dad made this one batch a year for friends and family around the holidays between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Uh and a batch was like 12, 15 bottles, they were very small. Um he made one batch a year, and I was probably maybe 15 or so when I noticed people were like, hey Mario, am I gonna get a bottle this year? Because he wasn't making very many. Um so I knew it was very special. It was it was something everyone looked forward to in our family and and friends. So uh I was fortunate enough to make it with him in the last few years of his life. And when he passed away 15 years ago uh in April, um I said to my son Aaron, it's like we we gotta honor our grandpa, we gotta continue to do this. So uh we started making one batch a year in the kitchen, and we were using old wine bottles and putting old photos of him on, you know, every year was a different photo just to honor him, you know, different stages of his life. Uh in 2018, I put the current the photos that's on our bottle, I put that on a bottle, and I was just like, this kind of feels like a brand, you know, and never ever ever for a million years thought about starting a spirit brand. And I'm like, well, let's see what this would take, because we love it. Uh-huh. Like in our family and friends, we loved it. And I'm like, well, maybe people like it, right? Uh so I started chipping away at it, and between 2018 and 2020-one, you know, I did all the compliance and the licensing and found a contract distiller and did all that the stuff that you needed to do, and we

The Four-Ingredient Recipe Explained

Joe Grasso

launched the brand in November of 2021.

Karen Mac Nair

Wow.

Joe Grasso

And uh the important thing to us, the most important thing to us was obviously we're honoring my dad uh and his legacy. So it was very important to us that we use his recipe, we scaled his recipe. And so we're still making tiny batches. It's not 12 bottles, but it's not it's a little more than that. But not now you're up to 24. Almost. But it's but compared to like big brands, we make tiny, tiny little amounts. And uh we're able to do that because we use my dad's recipe and it's only four ingredients. Uh it's 100% Arabica dark roast espresso, it is true espresso, it is not cold brew. Okay, so you'll see a lot of cold brew liqueurs out there. This is espresso. So when you order an espresso martini, that's what you get, right? You should anyway. Um, organic Madagascar vanilla, the real stuff. Uh, we use a little bit of cane sugar, real uh cane sugar to sweeten just a little bit, and then we blend all of that with a neutral grain spirit. And people wonder, like, what does that mean? Neutral means uh there's no flavor.

Karen Mac Nair

Okay.

Joe Grasso

Uh it's a grain spirit like virtually every other spirit. Ours, we use a non-GMO corn. Um so it's a neutral grain spirit that is pure grain alcohol. So it's a very high proof, which is terrifying. Right. But the point is. The point is, and my dad figured this out, it's because it's such a high proof, we just use a tiny little bit.

Karen Mac Nair

Okay.

Joe Grasso

So what that means is we're not watering it down and we're not diluting it with like vodka or you know, like some of the vodka and tequila-based liqueur. So what that means is we have a real strong concentration of coffee and vanilla, and people taste chocolate and caramel and all kinds of flavors, but there's no flavoring in it. Uh-huh. Um, and it's what also makes it super versatile because it's neutral and flavorless, and uh and a as a base spirit, it blends with everything. So now, you know, in our family we just drank it straight. And I think the first week we brought it to market, a bartender was like, Oh, this is gonna be amazing with whiskey. And I was like, What is that? Get a camera. I don't even know what that means. Let's just I want to see this. But now we know, right, that bar it blends with everything so great with whiskey and rum, at tequila and mezcal, and as a cottagill or a margarita, yeah, you know, or with horchata. I mean, it's incredible how versatile.

Karen Mac Nair

Oh my gosh, so many things I would never think of.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, it's been incredible. So we have uh these cocktail cards that we put together that are actually cocktails being poured in different bars and restaurants primarily. Um we have them at all the events we do, and we'll have them at taste as well because we want people, we tell people if you get a bottle, play with it. It is so much fun. Because you can do things, you know, if you want something breakfasty or something brunchy, or then something like after dinner, you can do all those things, and it's really, really fun.

Karen Mac Nair

So I have to say, if you get through, if you don't you drink the bottle in one day, like my family did. We got a bottle and had friends over, and it didn't last till breakfast.

Joe Grasso

I mean, they're only human.

Karen Mac Nair

It lasted the evening.

Joe Grasso

You know, it's a it's a And it was straight most of the time, too.

Karen Mac Nair

You're right, just drinking even out of the bottle sometimes.

Joe Grasso

It was delicious. It's a crazy thing, and I and I'm and I want to be sensitive because I don't want to like sound like I'm bragging because that that's not the intent, but we hear that a lot. And I understand it because that's the way it is for us too. You know, you you bring it out, and what ends up happening is you know, someone wants to drink it straight, or someone loves it with a little milk, or someone wants to make a white Russian, or someone wants to mix it with whiskey or a mascow. Right. And the next thing you know, people are doing different things with it, right? And it's super satisfying, and then the bottle's empty.

Karen Mac Nair

Right. And then you're like, no, I didn't get my other drink.

Joe Grasso

Yeah.

Sicily Roots And The Story Label

Karen Mac Nair

Okay, I do have a question. Did your dad come up with the recipe, or did he inherit it from someone?

Joe Grasso

That is a really good question, and I wish I could answer that. But I it's because it it it predates me, right? Okay. So they were Sicilian immigrants. Um, my family, right? They came from Sicily, they uh they settled on um my my grandfather and his brothers all had farms uh in upstate New York, like across the street from one another, and they did all kinds of things, right? Yeah, so they were you know they grew crops, and uh in fact I joke because people look at the my dad's physique on the bottle and they think he's a boxer or a bodybuilder, but he was a farmer. He was they were they were they were onion farmers. Um but they you know, as immigrants are apt to do, you know, they use everything and they they made their own wine and they made their limoncello and they made, you know, my my uh uh my grandmother and my aunts were amazing bakers, and my grandfather owned a butcher shop, and you know, so they were they were and they were bricklayers and tool makers, right? So they were very crafty. And I this recipe came from that, but I don't know the exact origin.

Karen Mac Nair

So the it was definitely the family crazy.

Joe Grasso

It came out of that somewhere, yeah. And um, you know, it was just something really, really special. So it's super special for us to be able to tell this story and share our family.

Karen Mac Nair

And to share the logo is your dad, it is, and to describe it, because if people are just listening, yeah, and he does have his shirt off, and he has his arms in the muscle position, yeah, and he does look like he's from the 1920s, ready to go into a boxing ring.

Joe Grasso

He does, but all of those things. But that is literally my dad knew he was kind of a you know a badass, I guess, with all my buttons. My dad used to say to me, he's like, You lift crates of onions all day, you'll look like that too.

Karen Mac Nair

So now I know what my new workout is. Right. I am just gonna go to the local market and ask if I could lift crates of onions.

Joe Grasso

And there you go. You know what you're gonna look like. Yeah, he, you know, it it was a it was funny. My mom, who we who recently passed away when we launched this brand, you know. I I said to her, she was in her 90s, and I said to her, I said, you know, mom, and in your lifetime you've seen a lot of things in your life, right? You've seen you know, air travel and telephone and on the internet and television. And I said, now you're half-naked husband on bottles all over on shore stuff. And she said, sure, she said to me, She says, You had to choose that picture, right? And then but then she was like, he does look pretty good, doesn't he? Yeah. So it was very sweet. I love that. It was

Growth, Awards, And Momentum

Joe Grasso

really sweet.

Karen Mac Nair

So you were at Taste last year. Congratulations on the award. Thank you. Um, you were best in show for food booths.

Joe Grasso

Super excited.

Karen Mac Nair

You're watching us on YouTube. The um wonderful certificate is in front of us. So congratulations. Thank you. We're so thank you for coming back. We're very glad that you're coming back. Of course. So we haven't talked in a year.

Joe Grasso

Yeah.

Karen Mac Nair

Anything new happened this year? Anything we can catch us up? I know it's been a lot for us all.

Joe Grasso

I mean, it's it's like what do they say? They say the uh what is it, the days are long and the years are short.

Karen Mac Nair

Oh my gosh, that's so true.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, so it's like it's it's hard to believe it's been a year, but boy, so much has happened.

Karen Mac Nair

Yeah.

Joe Grasso

Um, yeah, sales, you know, we had a really, really good year. Um, I think we came close to doubling sales uh year over year. A lot more bars and restaurants, particularly in Southern California, real a lot in San Diego. Uh Northern California's doing really well. We have a um really great uh distributor now who's distributing Mario's in the Central Coast, in the Central Valley, J L Wines and Spirits, who are phenomenal. Um so that's been really great. Um, you know, it's just been uh we do a continue to do a lot of events and uh you know try to pour for as many people as we possibly can. It's been super satisfying uh because now, four and a half years in, we see a lot of people who know us, yeah. They all have stories, or they a lot of them have stories and they want to tell us, and so it's very satisfying, and people discover us and they want to share with their family and friends, and um so it just feels like you know, we're doing something right, and it feels like we're building momentum and um you know it's it's it's an honor, honestly.

Karen Mac Nair

Well, when we got to meet you for the first time last year, it w we definitely talked about you being uh award winning. Yes, but it's so nice to see that awards have now turned into in people's homes. Yeah. In people's lives, in the holiday season, in you know, a celebration of some sort that now that family story is translating to people's homes and their family stories.

Joe Grasso

100%, which is really the best award, right? I mean seriously. Um we we should we probably should enter some more award competitions. Um as a small brand, you know, we have to pinch every penny. And it's not an inexpensive product to uh to make uh because we use all premium ingredients and you know everything's a little pricey, but I want the you know the money to go in the bottle and I don't want to compromise that in any way. So you know, we we pick and choose what we can do. I think awards maybe next year will we'll go again, but we entered um right after um we launched we launched in 2021. I entered uh four award shows in 2022, and we won uh two golds, a platinum, a silver, and then we're scored 95 points by the tasting panel. So we did really well. So I was kind of like, okay.

Karen Mac Nair

Pause.

Joe Grasso

I'll just I'm gonna live with that for a minute. You know, it was it was I love it. Yeah.

Karen Mac Nair

Well, you got the taste of our Kadia Best and Show Award. So what more did you need for 2015?

Joe Grasso

I know, exactly. That was enough. That was our award for the year. For the year. This was our first year there. The crowd was phenomenal. People seemed to love us, everyone was super friendly. It's a beautiful environment. Oh, yay!

Karen Mac Nair

I'm glad you loved it.

Joe Grasso

Oh, God, it was great. And you know, well produced. You know, we do a lot of events, some of them are not so um, but it was it was wonderful, and then to get the award was just like yeah, I mean, that's just so cool because that's you know, you it's hard when you're back there, you know, to get a sense of the crowds and right you know how people are reacting, you know, what the you know, it seems like everybody loves it, right? But you're just talking to people, you know, as they get to the table. So to have that was just really special. So we're very honored.

Karen Mac Nair

Well, I'm glad you're back. Thank you so much for being here.

Joe Grasso

Thrilled to be here.

Where To Buy And Booth Plans

Karen Mac Nair

Um, one of the questions we got, and I shared the story with you, the aftertaste, our phone was ringing, asking, where do I go to get this Mario's Heart Espresso? And will you share with that if people are out there aftertaste when they taste it, if they want to run, get it right now and do a pre-tasting, where can where can we go? How can we find out?

Joe Grasso

So, you know, right off the right out of the bat, uh every virtually every total wine and more in California carries Mario's and it's a uh premium select product there, so the pricing is really well. There's a lot of um independent uh liquor stores uh that sell it also. Um and uh there's one really major retailer that had it and sold it out and will hopefully be bringing it back, but I can't say who it is. But if you go to our website and you put in your zip code, uh we have a map, an interactive map, and anybody can go put in their zip code um and see the places that are closest to them, and not only uh where places to buy it, but also bars and restaurants that serve it.

Karen Mac Nair

Oh, that's nice. So you can do um different styles of drinks and have people the professionals do it for us sometimes. 100%.

Joe Grasso

And and you know, people are doing amazing things with it, not just espresso martini, although there's amazing, you know, incredible espresso martinis out there, but we're seeing all kinds of cocktails um that are using Mario's uh hard espresso, so it's very exciting.

Karen Mac Nair

And when you come to Taste of Arcadia, they can come to your booth and if there's any new hot off-the-press information, oh yeah, you'll be able to update people at that time. I feel like exciting things are gonna happen this next quarter for you.

Joe Grasso

I mean, you listen, you know, I hope so. Um I'm just trying not to mess it up. If I'm being honest.

Karen Mac Nair

Isn't that shouldn't we all have a shirt that says that? Like, listen, I'm just trying not to mess it up.

Joe Grasso

That's kind of the that's kind of the deal. The cool thing about people coming to taste and coming to the booth, we have a lot of fun. Um we'll generally do a raffle toward the end of the day, give away some hats or whatever, you know, that's kind of fun. Uh, we have different things to taste. Um, you know, we have a we we we joke that we have a rule, everyone has to taste Mario straight first because I want people to know what it tastes like right out of the bottle. It's exceptional, right out of the bottle. And then that way you know what the base is. And then we'll we'll mix a couple of things. We do a uh usually something that's a little more creamy and desserty, and a little something we have a grape uh brunch drink, and we may do a slush this year, um, which is really good. Ooh.

Karen Mac Nair

It's a hot afternoon when we're recording this, so that sounds delicious.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, so we do a slush, we refer to it as a 213, uh, and it's our ode to LA basically. It's also the reason. It's also uh the recipe.

Karen Mac Nair

Uh-huh.

Joe Grasso

Uh it's two parts Mario's and one part tequila and three parts horchata. Oh. And you put that in a slush.

Karen Mac Nair

It's amazing. Make sure you have food with that.

Joe Grasso

It's dangerous. It's a little dangerous, but it's good.

Nitro Espresso Martini On Tap

Joe Grasso

Um the other thing we did this year, which is really exciting, is we, you know, a pain point for bars and restaurants is the espresso martini. You know, everybody wants them. Uh they're kind of difficult or a challenge or at least cumbersome to make um for bars and restaurants, especially if they're doing it properly. Um, so we wanted to sort of address that and also um, you know, make it make it easy for bars and restaurants to make them, but also make it consistent, right? Yeah. So people go to a bar or restaurant, you get the espresso martini there, it's the same way every time. Right. Um, so we took uh Mario's Heart Espresso, the same four ingredients, that same uh formula, and reformulated it specifically for nitro infusion.

Karen Mac Nair

Okay.

Joe Grasso

So people are accustomed to seeing a Guinness and how a Guinness pours and the and the gas turns, that's nitrogen. Okay. Uh unlike a beer which is CO2, this is nitrogen gas, and that's it, so it has a very uh velvety and creamy texture, very smooth and delicious. So uh in order for that nitrogen to infuse, you know we need to get the alcohol, the ABV, the alcohol by volume, down below 20%. So we re-in we reformulated it specifically for nitro. Okay. Um and we're uh added a little bit of cardamom, a little bit of sea salt, it's really delicious. Um and so we're starting to install those in bars and restaurants as a option, you know, for them so they can have a consistent and quick espresso martini. Um and we'll be pouring those uh on tap, on nitro tap at Taste of Arcadia.

Karen Mac Nair

So on your end, how long does it take to re uh structure uh the hard espresso? Like when you when you're talking about adding or or modifying, I think is probably so my son Aaron is the scientist and a mixologist.

Joe Grasso

Um he's got an amazing palate, and you know, so and we all weigh in, of course. Yeah. Um but it's just a matter of taking what ingredients we have and starting to mess with them, you know, and he'll do the math, and it's like we gotta get this dilution and this this amount of um uh uh alcohol. You know, it's interesting if you think about you make an espresso martini, you put all the ingredients in a shaker with ice, you shake it. Well that that shaking it with ice creates a dilution. Right. There's water so that that that dilutes the concentration, but not the same thing in in a in a uh tap uh in a keg. So we have to pre-dilute it because it's not gonna have ice, right? So there's all those all that math that goes into it that I'm like I tell him that's your opinion. No, it's it's a talent.

Karen Mac Nair

It really is.

Joe Grasso

So he he worked through the recipe, we we got it to a place we really loved, and that's what we've we've been doing, and it's phenomenal because as I said, we have a lot of places now that are just have a killer espresso martini on tap.

Karen Mac Nair

I love that. Well, I enjoy espresso martinis, but I do like to still taste the espresso.

Joe Grasso

Thank you.

Karen Mac Nair

When it is um really too diluted with whatever they decide to put in it, it's disappointing to me. I like to see the darkness, I like to see the multiple layers as it reaches the top. Yeah, you know, because that's for me, that's the whole point is to have it rich and flavorful and not just milky.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, and a lot of places. I mean, I don't want to like call anybody out, but a lot of places don't use espresso. So then you're if it's if you start with a coffee or a coffee liqueur that has a bitter edge, then you're trying to doctor that bitter edge out, so you might have to add things that you wouldn't otherwise add. But um really the best espresso martinis, in my opinion, are no more than four ingredients. They're just really simple. Um if you want to add like a little vodka or a little tequila if you prefer that flavor, you can even make them with whiskey and rum, you know, if you want to take it. Yeah. Um but it should be true espresso. It should be concentrated enough that you get the foam from the coffee and not from an additive.

Karen Mac Nair

Yes, okay, I totally agree with that. And the taste is the it's right. It it's um it's a nighttime cup of coffee.

Joe Grasso

It's like the happy hour version of and you can add a little something if you want a little bitter, you know, if you want like to add like a little chili chocolate or orange. Um, you can add a little uh, you know, like we like we said, we added a little cardamom, a little sea salt, makes the flavors pop. You know, every there's still certainly room for, you know, you know, chip, you know, messing around a little bit, right?

Karen Mac Nair

Yeah, there's always an invention waiting to happen. So I have another

Minis, Gift Packs, And Canned RTD

Karen Mac Nair

comment. Yes. We talked about packaging being uh um not just different, but additional packaging. Will you share a little bit about if you're watching us on YouTube, you can see the bottle.

Joe Grasso

Yeah.

Karen Mac Nair

And then there's a tiny baby bottle.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, this is the mighty mini. Uh we we refer to this bottle as a dog walker.

Karen Mac Nair

Okay.

Joe Grasso

Uh, because it's kind of just the right amount, but it's really more than that. Um, you know, it's a it's a flask style bottle. It's like a little mini version of our 750. Um, it's refillable and uh it's perfect for a golf bag or perfect for a big bag. I was just thinking that, yeah.

Karen Mac Nair

Slide in the golf bag.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, we have we have people who use it as a birdie bag in their birdie bag or birdie bottle kind of thing. Um uh but also people take them into concerts and put them in their pockets and take them on ski slopes and do all kinds of things. So it's just been a really fun addition, and we're just starting to roll that out um to different places.

Karen Mac Nair

And you were talking about a holiday package that came out.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, last year we did a holiday or holiday gift pack, included a bottle of Marios and two really cool carabiner cups. Um they're like a camp mug, but they have like a carabiner handle, so you can clip them on.

Karen Mac Nair

Ooh.

Joe Grasso

And it's just portable. Yeah, super portable. Um, and then we included a uh little mini and a funnel, so uh like we said, so your dog walker never goes thirsty, right? So we could just re- people could refill it and take it out with them.

Karen Mac Nair

Now when people are like, I'm gonna go walk the dog, we know exactly what's happening.

Joe Grasso

They always come back happier. I don't know. I don't know what you and the dog. Exactly.

Karen Mac Nair

It's totally awful.

Joe Grasso

So it's been really fun and we're we're toying with some other things. I think um it's imminent, but I can't put a date on it. But the espresso martini is like perfect. To put in a can as a ready to drink. Okay. As a like a little four pack, so we're in the process of just starting that. So that'll be that'll be coming too.

Karen Mac Nair

We've talked about your website a couple times. Can you give us what the actual website is?

Joe Grasso

Yeah, drinkmario's.com.

Karen Mac Nair

Oh nice. Very easy. Drink Mario's drink Mario's.

Joe Grasso

Drinkmario's.com. And if you don't remember that, always Mario's Hardespresso.com. Okay. Either one will get you to the same place.

Karen Mac Nair

Oh, nice. Yeah. Okay. I need to get that small bottle.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, and honestly, again, you know, it's super easy for people to just go and look at the map and see all the places. Okay. Yeah, especially here in Southern California.

Karen Mac Nair

Which I love that because, you know, we we tend to go through things quickly. Yeah. And we we need to um be there. We talked about a few LA bars so that um you've been in this year.

Joe Grasso

Yes.

Karen Mac Nair

So the bars are listed there too on the website.

Joe Grasso

Yes, they are. Bars and restaurants. So we update it. Um listen, we've been very fortunate. You know, one of the goals for us when we launched this, because we're from Los Angeles, you know, I was born in San Bernardino, not quite Los Angeles, but you know, the Southland, right? Um, and so my kids are from here. So because we're from here, and this is an ext we feel we're an extension of this community, and so we want to be a part of the community and and support it in every way we can. Um and so, you know, we we've just been very, very fortunate with I mean, it's hundreds now of bars and restaurants that have really embraced us and embraced Mario's and use it. And and you know, I'll I'll be honest, they use it by choice because they there's a lot of pressure for them to to go with other brands that are cheaper or they have pressure on them because of whatever economics and they choose Mario's because I mean I think it's because it's better, but also we're local and it's craft and it's a small batch um and it's delicious, and they can do more with it.

Karen Mac Nair

Yeah. So us being as a chamber, the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, that is our mission to really help businesses connect with each other, to help the economic growth of small businesses with large businesses, like just have us all come together. So your story like gives me chills because that's what we do on a regular basis. Thank you. And to see it happening, um times aren't always easy for businesses, and we you have to ride the roller coaster, and it's nice to see like just hang on, it's coming, the good times are coming, and it's nice to see the bars and you make a connection.

Taste Test Begins Straight Pour

Joe Grasso

Thank you.

Karen Mac Nair

Well, we're gonna head off and take a short commercial break, and then on to my favorite part, the taste testing. Yay! So everyone, hang on, we're gonna hear some uh a few commercials. We'll be right back.

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Karen Mac Nair

Well, welcome back everyone. If you're watching us on YouTube, I'm trying to show the label here of the Mario's Heart Express. We talk so much about your dad, Mario Joe. I feel like I needed to show a little bit about who he is. This is the Big Daddy bottle. I'm putting it down. So don't break it. Unforgettable Big Daddy. And then we have the tiny baby, which I do love that. Well, welcome back, everyone. Sorry I got excited. Um, we are here to taste this hard espresso. Joining us is Chris Z Christine Zito. That's your name into one word. Christine Zito from Pure Media Marketing. She helps us um with the editing and production of the show. So Joan um suggested we should have the third taster so we could hear um a little bit more about the flavors and what it is.

Joe Grasso

So you know, here's the thing we one of the things people will see when they see our advertising or whatever, though, see me say, you know, thanks for sharing the love, right? Or share the love, right? Because that's what my dad did, right? So for us to share the love is what we do. That's our mission, right? So I'm glad you could sit in with us.

Christine Zito

I'm happy to do it.

Joe Grasso

Hey, um, we're gonna start with Mario straight out of the bottle. Okay. And I this is that thing I say, you know, we make people do when they come to taste it. Um, only because I, you know, it's important for us to have you taste exactly what it is, again, because it's incredibly delicious and it's super unique. It's not it's not like anything else you're gonna taste. So, again, four ingredients 100% arabica dark roast espresso, organic Madagascar vanilla, a little bit of cane sugar blended with a neutral grain spirit that's flavorless. You'll f you won't taste the alcohol, but you'll feel it on the back end.

Karen Mac Nair

Um Mardi Warm on the inside. I can already taste it. This will be a good way. This will be good. Okay, cheers. Cheers. This is the same. Cheers, everyone, watching. The pauses because we're all drinking. Okay, I am a vanilla fan. Love it, love the smell, love the taste. And uh after the espresso flavor, the next one I do taste is vanilla. Yeah. But you're right, it's not overpowering. It is they're like friends holding hands coming through your taste buds. I love that. It's not someone like saying, get out of the way.

Joe Grasso

You know, um it was special for us when Tasting Panel Magazine scored us 95 points, they literally called out the balance of the spirit. You know, perfectly balanced with no bitter edge, which I just like I'll embrace that all day long, right? And again, you know, you take if there's only four ingredients, you taste every one. Right. But then people taste chocolate and caramel, you know, that mid-pallate kind of those flavors, but you know, that's you know, that's all there is. It's four ingredients.

Karen Mac Nair

Christine, what'd you think?

Christine Zito

Oh, they all the ingredients come together and splash together, and they splash in your mouth, and you can taste the espresso. Yeah. So it is delicious.

Joe Grasso

Thank you.

Christine Zito

I don't know if I'll stay awake.

Joe Grasso

Oh, sure you can. Oh, but caffeine now. Although, you know, that's actually a good thing if you don't mind me addressing that. Everyone always asks how much caffeine.

Karen Mac Nair

Okay, good point.

Joe Grasso

Right? And so um it's the same amount of caffeine as black coffee. It's commensurate ounce to ounce. So, for instance, if you poured literally that much, like a little bit of Starbucks in a cup and that much Mario, it would have the same amount of caffeine. Oh, nice. It is not a caffeine bomb. People think it may be like a concentrated caffeine. So you still have to be careful if you're you know like very sensitive, caffeine sensitive, but other than that, it is not like overly caffeinated. And if you're gonna make a cocktail and you use a couple of ounces in a cocktail, it's literally like using that much Starbucks.

Karen Mac Nair

I also have to say, because we were talking about balance and how it's so smooth, this doesn't taste like a sugar bum either. Because there's been many times I've ordered a drink and I thought, okay, I'm not worried about the caffeine, I'm worried about the sugar high now. And like you start shaking it too much. I don't have that overpowering taste. Thank you. It is flavorful.

Joe Grasso

Thank you.

Karen Mac Nair

Um, but it it just isn't it's enjoyable if you don't have the the sugar or the I can tell you, thank you.

Joe Grasso

I can tell you when we were uh trying to figure out how we were gonna make it, and I wanted to scale my dad's recipe. Um, a lot of places told, but you gotta go to a flavoring company, and I didn't even know what that was. And so I started sending bottles that I had made to the flavoring company, and then I started getting uh samples back, and I quickly realized it was all fake. Yeah, including fake sweeteners and fake vanilla, uh, which I don't even want to go into what they use to make those. It's yeah it's horrible. I thought this is fake vanilla vanilla. They call it vanilla.

Christine Zito

Vanilla.

Joe Grasso

I can just tell you read labels. This is a family show, so but it's but it's uh from a beaver gland that is located in a place you don't really want to talk about. But that's where the flavor comes from. I guess because they eat a lot of you know maple, you know, sap or something, whatever. But it was like I told the guy.

Karen Mac Nair

That show just took a turn.

Joe Grasso

No, sorry, sorry about that. But I tell people it's like, you know, I I said to the guy, I said, You you realize my dad is on the label, right? Like there's no way we're doing that. So anyway, to go back, it's a yes, it's a little sweet, but not hopefully not overly sweet, and yes, it's real cane sugar. We're not using anything artificial, you don't get that weird saccharin artificial flavor.

Christine Zito

No, it like like in wine, you move, you move, you move the liquid like this. And so you could see the sugar, but you know the balance is when it see all those little lines? Yeah. Balance. Yeah. So it's very nice. It's like eating a candy apple caffeine style espresso.

Karen Mac Nair

I like the way you just that's where your brain is like spitting out. I love it because we just taste what we taste. Yeah. And you know, there there is no judgment on it. It's just I I've had people say that, like, just tell us what you taste. And I get nervous, like I'm supposed to do hit the check boxes. Yeah. And we don't. We get to enjoy this. That's okay. Now, what's this next step? I'm gonna keep sipping on this.

Joe Grasso

All of this is what we'll be doing, all of excuse me, we'll be doing all of these tasters at Taste of Arcadia, so it's really fun. People will be able to try them, as well as the espresso martini on nitro. Um, but we we this next one is we're gonna so you know you've tried it straight out

Boozy Julius Brunch Shot Layers

Joe Grasso

of the bottle, so you know what it is. So now we're gonna go to what we call our breakfast shot, or it's really really we're doing it as a shot so you get the flavors, but really you serve it as a brunch drink. Okay. Um, this was a recipe that we we needed to do a uh brunch cocktail, and we came up with it because I heard about some trending stuff, and uh we call it a boozy Julius.

Christine Zito

Ooh.

Joe Grasso

So I will here. If you're gonna have to Oh, and this is okay. Alright, I can make three new ones.

Christine Zito

Okay, there you go.

Joe Grasso

We got quiet because we were finishing our drinking really quick.

Christine Zito

We're drinking our candy apples.

Joe Grasso

This is something that's really fun. Um I tell people. Sorry.

Karen Mac Nair

No, that's okay. Joe, while you're getting stuff together, I'm gonna ask one question.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, please.

Karen Mac Nair

And then you're gonna tell me what you tell people about this. Um, so here we have a pamphlet that has already recipes of different tastes and ways to do it. So I'm assuming this is on your website also?

Joe Grasso

Different cocktails, yeah. All of those recipes and more are on our website. Uh we use this uh really to show people the versatility of Marios. Uh, we have them at our booth, they're available for people to take home. I tell people if you get a bottle, play with it, have fun with it, mix it on any given night, you can do something different. Um, you know, if you feel like something with I tell you, you know, we did a collaboration with High West Whiskey. It was half Mario's and half high west and an orange slice. They called it a cowboy coffee. There could not be a more perfect drink for sitting around a campfire. Like, no, you know, so it's that kind of thing. Right.

Karen Mac Nair

I want to be medication with my cow, like, let's go.

Christine Zito

You know, my my family, they I told you I had given bottles to my brother-in-law, both my brother-in-laws, and my uh nephew. And they went on the website and we did some of these. Awesome. I don't know what the last one was because we were just all like, this one.

Joe Grasso

Yeah. You know, so it was so there's whiskey and mescal and sila, that's the margarita negative is amazing. The the the on this particular uh cocktail card, the latest one, for summer, there's a heart espresso spritz.

Christine Zito

Oh, yeah, look at those.

Joe Grasso

Which is really good. And so I tell people, if you want something, it's you know, you're sitting by the pool in the beach, you want something refreshing, um, and but you want a little bit of a kick, you know, a little espresso kick. Mario's hard espresso in either club soda or I mean sparkling water and tonic or tonic. Yeah. And an orange slice. Unbelievable, refreshing, delicious. Tonic is a little sweeter, almost like a taste ends up being like a cream soda. Uh-huh. But it's super good. It's refreshing and it's got an espresso kick, and it's not, you know, a typical spritz with champagne, you know, your typical.

Karen Mac Nair

Okay, so we're on to the Boozy Julius.

Joe Grasso

So this is a cocktail that we came up with as a brunch drink. It's being served in a couple dozen bars and restaurants now. Hold on, don't.

Karen Mac Nair

So I'm gonna read off while you're pouring 2.5 ounces of Mario's Heart Espresso.

Joe Grasso

Yep.

Karen Mac Nair

2.5 ounces 100% orange juice pulp-free. Yes. Float of heavy cream. Yes. Pour orange juice over ice, slowly add Mario's Heart Espresso top with a float of heavy cream. Indeed. In a beautiful glass, and you have a boozy juice.

Joe Grasso

So, what happens when you pour them in that order and you pour them gently, is it will actually layer. So you get a dark layer and then an orange layer and then a cream layer. And the fun part of that, I tell people, when you have friends over for brunch and you want to serve them something different, and you pour these, people will think you have three heads. They're like, what the heck is that? And you say, just trust me. And then they try it and they're like, What the heck was that? And they can't get enough. So it's really fun. Uh it's a conversation starter and it's something completely different.

Karen Mac Nair

Like we talked about with the espresso martini, the layers. Yeah. It was beautiful in it.

Joe Grasso

So this is where this is where the show takes another turn because I'm gonna have you shoot this.

Karen Mac Nair

Oh, dang. Oh, really?

Joe Grasso

Yes, because it's okay. It's soft. Okay. It's okay. You can trust me. I'm a doctor now.

Karen Mac Nair

Do not try this at home.

Joe Grasso

It's very soft. At least that that's the way you're gonna get all three flavors. But it's really mellow.

Karen Mac Nair

All right. Cheers. Cheers. Okay, you're so right.

Christine Zito

Oh my gosh, that is. It's like having the ice cream. Can I have another one?

Karen Mac Nair

Yeah. We have one more drink. Do you want to pause and have the next drink before you make that tight?

Christine Zito

That was good. Now that was eating like one of those orange icy.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, or like a 50-50 bar rather than a 50-year-old. That's it.

Karen Mac Nair

And for those of you at home, Christine's eyes got so big and so happy, is why she wanted one right away. Which, Christine, you can totally have it. Can you kind of take a bottle home? We're gonna have another drink, so I don't want to overdo it too quickly.

Joe Grasso

So yeah, so that was good. Also, we call it a boozy Julius because if you were if you remember uh Orange Julius.

Christine Zito

Oh, yeah, I remember the Orange Julius in the 5050s. I mean, it was what a couple years ago.

Joe Grasso

I'll just make a small one here just in case you want something else.

Christine Zito

Okay.

Karen Mac Nair

So this um just in case the closer is one of your favorites, we can circle back.

Christine Zito

That was good because you could really, it was better than the ice cream, it was better than the 50-50. It was so good.

Karen Mac Nair

So we've a grown-up now. I know it gets a grown up thing. Okay, so I'm sorry, which is this one?

After-Dinner Cream Float And Wild Mixes

Joe Grasso

So this one is not on the card. Okay. Um, it's very simple to make.

Karen Mac Nair

Okay.

Joe Grasso

Um, you know, one of the things my dad would do, we drank it straight, but one of the things he would make, a cocktail he'd like to make after dinner, he called it a King Alphonse. Okay. Um, and it's just a very classic uh chilled Mario's hard espresso, like in a nice stemmed glass, and then he'd very gently over the back of a spoon pour heavy cream. And just put a nice little float on top of it. So that's basically what this is. That's the derivation of this. Um the only difference is I've added like one-third Bailey's. Okay. And I do that because people love Bailey's. I really do. The thing about Bailey's is if you go straight, it's gonna take over. That's all you're gonna taste. I'm with you. So what you're having here is a nice little float, and that is about one-third Bailey's and about two-thirds uh cream. Okay on Mario's. Very delicious. Uh really nice after dinner. Um showing the camera. Yeah.

Karen Mac Nair

So you can watch it on YouTube. You can see it, what it's supposed to look like.

Joe Grasso

And you don't have to shoot this one, unless, of course, you want to.

Christine Zito

Well, you could taste the Bailey's in the finish.

Karen Mac Nair

Right.

Christine Zito

Yeah.

Karen Mac Nair

But you don't lose the hard espresso flavor. Exactly. And I that's my applaud because there's been so many times that it's not there with other experiences. So I appreciate that you can still taste it.

Joe Grasso

Yeah, thank you. And that was, you know, that's sort of the goal, so you get balance, right? And you get that Bailey's flavor, that sort of cream Irish cream deliciousness that people like without without that being the only thing that you taste, right? So it's a little more complex and a little more delicate. So people love that, you know, around the holidays, but also, you know, after dinner and you're just chilling out and you're hanging out in the backyard or whatever, and you want something just to, you know, end your night just to sip on. That's really, really good.

Karen Mac Nair

Yeah, that is very good. I'm already thinking of friends that I know they're as I look at the drink list, like I ooh, I'm like, ooh, I know who would like that. And I would not think of mixing it with things like whiskey, though. That just crazy did not even occur to me.

Joe Grasso

Honest, honestly, the first time um uh bartender suggested that, I just was like, we we said, get get get the cameras and go film it because I never even heard of it. And now I know better, right? I've learned enough uh to know better. Incredibly versatile with everything, and it's gotten a little ridiculous because we just said, Well, what doesn't it blend with? Like I was literally, I mean, this sounds crazy. I was literally at a wine tasting the other night and somebody, uh uh uh a guest didn't care for the wine and she was born Mario's in it because she said it made it better. Oh I know, bizarre. But we have people blending it with Modello, like a light beer, because it turns it kind of makes it out. Um whiskey, rum, tequila, like it will it's crazy how much fun it is. I have really good friends that have a uh um uh bloody Mary mix company. Okay um and they uh I'm camping again in my mind. I know it just got out and we made a Heart Espresso Bloody Mary that was really delicious. Or um Mario's Heart Espresso Bloody Mary. Really good.

Karen Mac Nair

I love that.

Joe Grasso

Yeah. So like lots of fun stuff.

Final Reflections And Ticket Reminder

Karen Mac Nair

So we're at the end of the podcast. Can you believe it? It goes so quick.

Joe Grasso

It does.

Karen Mac Nair

It just flies by. Is there anything else you want to share before we go?

Joe Grasso

Um okay. No, I'm just it's an honor to be here. You know, um when we started this thing, we didn't know anything, you know, four years, four and a half years ago. All we knew is we had something we loved in our family, and you know, we had my dad and his ethos, you know, um, and his and it mo that's what motivates us to this day. Um I would say now, you know, we're gonna celebrate five years in November. So but now we have people who know us and people who share stories, and people who share stories about sharing it, which is why my dad made it. Yeah and so for us, for me to think about people sharing, you know, basically doing the thing that my dad created it for. Yeah. Right? Is just so humbling. Um I'm just honored, you know. So I'm thrilled to be back and thrilled I can't wait to see everybody at the taste.

Karen Mac Nair

I'm excited too, just to hear your family story reminds me of who we are as a community, where it's like you go from one side of the street to or the dirt road to the other side and bringing all of your um family together and different tastings, different things. I in my mind they bring in food and drinks and all coming together and like try this.

Joe Grasso

Exactly.

Karen Mac Nair

So that's the heart of what Taste of Arcadia is. It's our community coming together. So thank you, Joe, for being part of it. We're very excited. Thank you, everyone, for listening. I hope we were entertaining today and you know what to go out and shop for. But first, you need to buy your tickets for Taste of Arcadia. Go to tasteofarcadia.com. Make sure you get your tickets today, and John, end of another episode. So take us away.

John Villa Announcer

Thank you, Kara, for another great episode. You can hear it on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio. Don't forget to join us on September 19th at Stanisha Park or Taste of Arcadia. You can get your tickets now at Taste of Arcadia.com. Thanks again for joining us for Tasty Arcadia. We'll see you after Taste.