Bartender International

Ivy Mix, Leyenda, New York

If you don't live in New York, it's hard to keep track of new bar openings, and it can be difficult when you're back to decide whether to try a new place or drink at an old favourite. When it comes to mezcal, Leyenda is definitely such an old favourite. Ivy Mix, a long-standing authority in the world of mixology, runs the bar with a lot of heart and soul.

Ivy was born in 1985 and grew up in Vermont. She studied at Bennington College and has a bachelor's degree in philosophy and fine arts. She was nineteen years old when she first came into contact with mixology in 2004. That year she travelled to Antigua in Guatemala, the old colonial capital of the country.

There she stumbled across a bar called Café No Sé - if you know anything about mezcal, this might ring a bell. Looking at the pictures of No Sé, it's easy to see why Ivy fell in love with this bar. But she didn't just fall in love with the bar, she also fell in love with a Barkeeper, who worked there. That's why she spent as much time as she could at No Sé.

Luckily for her, in those days you could just throw money in a jar, because at No Sé the bill was settled on the honour system. As is to be expected from someone so young, Ivy did not have unlimited financial resources.

In addition to bartending, she is also the co-founder of Speed Rack, a national cocktail competition that creates a platform for female bartenders.

As her bill got higher and her money got tighter, it was only logical to work there to pay the bill. This was her first job as a bartender and her first experience in the hospitality industry.

During her time there, she also discovered her love for mezcal. The only problem was that mezcal was literally illegal in Guatemala at the time. Only five agave spirits had an export licence at the time. To provide No Sé with the precious supply, Ivy accompanied the founder on smuggling missions to Mexico.

To bring the goods across the border, the two disguised themselves as missionaries and stated at the border control that they were transporting libros para los niños - books for children. Her intense green eyes must have charmed all the border officials, because they were never caught. She stayed in Central America for a few years and travelled extensively through Latin America.

In 2008, she moved back to New York but didn't think of working as a bartender in the United States. At the time, she had no experience with cocktails, but was forced to work as a bartender because the economy collapsed right after she moved. So in 2009, she got a job at Mayahuel in New York, which had just opened.

It took her a few tries to get this job and she had a lot of competition as many others were also bartending to pay their bills. When the economy goes downhill, the bars often do well because many drown their sorrows in alcohol.

From Mayahuel, she moved on to Fort Defiance and later to other bars in Brooklyn to broaden her horizons and build a career as a bartender. Eventually, Ivy was hired by Julie Reiner, a pioneer of the modern cocktail renaissance.

Ivy usually drinks Negronis, because they're hard to screw up, but also very hard to do really well.

She joined the team at Julie's SoHo tiki bar Lani Kai (now closed) and later Clover Club before finally opening her own place, Leyenda, in 2015 with the help of Julie and her business partner.

In addition to bartending, she is also the co-founder of Speed Rack - a national cocktail competition that creates a platform for female bartenders while raising money for breast cancer charities.

Ivy founded Speed Rack when she realised that most of her colleagues were men. This may be due to the speakeasy renaissance celebrating the Prohibition era and its gentlemen's club image, which did not include female Barkeeper, but Ivy did not like to stand on the sidelines at all.

Launched in 2011, Speed Rack has successfully changed the way people see women in the predominantly male-dominated cocktail industry.

To date, the events have raised over $600 000 for charity. To cap off her impressive career, Ivy Mix won American Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail's Spirited Awards and was named Mixologist of the Year by Wine Enthusiast in 2016.

Leyenda

Leyenda is meant to be an accessible, open and fun bar for everyone, regardless of nationality, socio-economic status, race or gender. Ivy wants Leyenda to be a kind of church where everyone is welcome to worship. When people enter, it is a bright, open and welcoming place, not dimly lit or hard to capture.

The idea is to serve excellent drinks and food to complement this welcoming environment. The focus is on mezcal, but of course other spirits and cocktails are also on offer. It's easy to see the cheerful Latin American approach to hospitality in this place. It's lively and you can feel the joie de vivre in the air.

Inspiration

Ivy is inspired by food. Especially by pastry chefs. In her opinion, these chefs have mastered the only other culinary profession that really needs to balance sweet, sour and salty, like mixologists do.

She is also inspired by the spirits themselves and the different notes they contain. These are her two main starting points for new recipes.

Favourite cocktail

Ivy usually drinks Negronis, because they're hard to screw up, but also very hard to do really well. Personally, she doesn't make her Negroni equal parts, but she doesn't mind getting it that way. She can order a Negroni anywhere and will always enjoy it.

This article appeared in
Issue 5-2021

BAR NEWS magazine as single issue

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