Root Elixirs is a woman-owned, small-batch cocktail mixer company located in San Luis Obispo. Dominique Gonzalez founded Root Elixirs 6 years ago using her extensive background in craft bartending.
Dominique’s expertise is in classic cocktails after spending 13 years bartending in San Francisco and Sacramento before deciding to move to San Luis Obispo. When she arrived in SLO CAL, she got her start working at Granada Hotel & Bistro as the bar manager. After working at Granada, another women-owned business in SLO CAL, Dominique took the leap to start Root Elixirs.
Root Elixirs was started because Dominque had a passion for craft cocktails and wanted to bring that craft home to the consumer. “I wanted people to be able to recreate cocktails at home that they would normally have at a cocktail bar, and I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for on the shelves in the stores,” Dominque explained. “I decided to start creating and mixing the fresh ingredients, botanicals and effervescence to bring elevated cocktails to people’s homes.”
Dominque explains that craft bartending is something that is very intentional. Cocktail crafters and mixologists use house-made syrups and fresh juice and herbs that are in season. It took her 2-3 years to get the ingredients right to ensure consistency and quality when using the mixers at home. She uses a balance of local ingredients and intentional flavors when creating the mixers so that they hold the integrity of a bar-crafted cocktail. In the end, every time you make a Root Elixirs cocktail it has the same consistency while taking away the work of having to hunt down all the ingredients.
Try out the equation for yourself: Root Elixirs + spirit + ice = craft cocktail. You can find Root Elixir products at local stores such as California Fresh Market, Granada Hotel & Bistro, The Hive in Arroyo Grande, and online at rootelixirs.com.
Photos by: Acacia Productions
