Bad & Boozy — Black-Owned Brooklyn

If Brooklyn had a “30 Under 30” celebrating the year’s high achievers, then Essie, the enterprising 29-year-old owner of Bad & Boozy Cocktail Co., would deserve a spot on the list. Still celebrating the February launch of her small-batch, custom-blend cocktail delivery service — while maintaining a 9-to-5 in public health that she finds equally gratifying — she is mastering the art of entrepreneurship during a global pandemic.

“I love helping people, and I love health,” says Essie, who requested that we omit her last name as she delicately navigates a public health career with her new identity as a business owner. “But there’s so much more I want to do. I love bringing people together. I love when Black people are healthy and happy, and entrepreneurship is my way to support that.”

Born and raised in Ghana, Essie planted the seeds for Bad & Boozy during her college undergrad years, where she was known for pulling up to parties with pre-made drinks. She later became a bartender in grad school. Then count all the times she sat at the bar, coaching other bartenders on how to jazz up their cocktails to meet her distinct standards. “The bartenders be tired of me, but I tip well, and then I have the drink I want,” she says with a laugh.

All of this foreshadowed Bad & Boozy: fresh-fruit craft cocktails (plus boozy frozen pops and gourmet jello shots), served in beautiful grab-and-go packaging, for delivery or pick-up.

“Bad & Boozy is just a bougie nutcracker.”

Chatting with Essie about Bad & Boozy’s signature cocktails, I couldn’t help but liken them to Brooklyn’s favorite summer beverage: the nutcracker. You know what I’m talking about. It’s 89 degrees; you’re at a festival in Prospect Park or a Coney Island concert series, and the homies call out, “Nutcrackers!” You slide them a $5 or $10 bill for a colorful spiked concoction to sip on for the afternoon. Essie admits that her Bad & Boozy cocktails-to-go absolutely pay homage to the classic summer drink.

“The nutcrackers will always be the OG’s!” Essie says. “Bad & Boozy is just a bougie nutcracker.”
⠀
So, what makes her drinks so bougie? First, take the ingredients: ginger and nutmeg, rose extract, fresh fruit from local vendors, even edible gold. Then there’s the fun variety of packaging, from translucent Capri Sun-like pouches to mason jars. More innovative options include clear milk cartons, pourable light bulbs, shiny disco balls, and gold-topped tumblers. Bad & Boozy also offers personalized “Fishbowl Kits” containing the booze and fancy ingredients packed with fun garnishes to match your desired theme.

“Our menu is like, ‘You pick the drink you want, and if you want it stronger, then add on a double shot,’” Essie says. “You pick the container you want, the straw you want and other custom decisions. In the end, it almost feels like you made the drink.”

Bad & Boozy delivers to Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx and some parts of Queens, with curbside pickup available in Crown Heights (location disclosed with your order confirmation). You can order from badxboozy.com.

Of the signature cocktails, I tried a fan favorite, Bey’s Lemonade: lemonade, pink and sweet with watermelon juice, a slice of lemon and cane sugar mixed with Hennessy. Other cocktails — which run the gamut from sweet and fruity, to crisp and tart — include Sorenny (housemade seven-spice sorrel with ginger-infused Hennessy) and the mimosa-adjacent Fo’ Fizzle (orange juice, orange blossom water, St. Germain elderflower liquer, prosecco and premium gin).
⠀
On another hot afternoon, I went with the Rosé All Day frozen pops, a delicious strawberry purée/rosé blend. And I saved the surprisingly succulent Champagne Campaign gourmet jello shots for an after-dinner treat. True to Essie’s custom standard, my order arrived with a handwritten note and my name in calligraphy across the front of the bag. The fun packaging, with its pink and gold branding and peekaboo fruit ingredients, was equally impressive.

“Drinking should be an experience,” Essie says. “What are you going to remember about it? How does it make you feel? I try to create a different vibe with everything I make.” —By Mai Perkins

badxboozy.com