Inspiring Conversations with Joe Grasso of MARIO’S HARD ESPRESSO

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Grasso.

Hi Joe, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi, Thanks for having me.
So, for as long as I can remember, my father Mario made his hard espresso once a year from an old Sicilian family recipe. He’d make about a dozen bottles around the holidays, and he would give them as gifts to family and friends. It was one of those things, a tradition that just became part of our family. For my dad, it was all about bringing people together, and everyone really looked forward to it. I remember I was about 14 when I noticed his friends asking him “Hey Mario, am I going to get a bottle this year?” So I new it was pretty special.

I had been making it with my Dad for the last few years of his life, and when he passed 15 years ago, my son Aaron and I continued to make it each year to honor him. At some point I started thinking, “Is there actually something here?” I had no grand plan to start a liquor company, I really didn’t. But every time people tried it, the reaction was the same.. they really loved it. And so it got me to thinking, which is always dangerous.

I started learning everything I could about the craft-spirit industry. I chipped away at it every day. After two years I decided to take a chance and see if we could turn what my Dad had created into a real business. We started very small. There was so much we didn’t know. A lot of the early journey was just learning about the business of production, licensing, distribution, selling, marketing, all of it. With the help of family we designed the label, built a website, found a contract distiller. We made a very small batch, and I got my distribution license and hit the ground running.

And honestly, virtually all of our growth has been very grassroots. We’d stroll into bars, restaurants and stores, and try to be very low-key. I’d pour for anyone kind enough to taste it, tell them the Mario’s story, and try to earn our way one account at a time. Bartenders, retailers, distributors, and customers have been so supportive and have really helped shape the brand along the way.

Today, Mario’s has grown a lot, but we still have a long way to go. It’s very competitive out there with the big brands having the resources to apply a lot of pressure on a little brand like ours. But I still try to keep the same perspective we had in the beginning. We’re a small family business. We care deeply about the quality of every bottle. We still handcrafted each one in very small batches, and frankly, I still believe that my Dad’s recipe is better than anything else out there. So I tell everyone, try it back-to-back with any other coffee liqueur. Generally, we win that taste-test every time.

I’m incredibly grateful for how far it’s come, but I also know we’re still pretty early in the story. The most rewarding part for me is seeing something my dad made simply to bring people together now being enjoyed by people he never had the chance to meet. That means everything.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not always smooth, that’s for sure. I don’t think starting any business is a smooth road, and the spirits business has its own special set of challenges. But with incredible help and support from friends and family we’ve managed pretty well.

One of the biggest struggles early on was simply not knowing what we didn’t know. We had a recipe people genuinely loved, but making a great product and building a successful spirits company are two very different things. There are licensing requirements, distributors, retailers, production, compliance, inventory, cash flow, it’s a complicated business, and we learned a lot of it as we went.

Distribution was a big challenge. You can make something wonderful, but if you can’t get it onto shelves or behind bars, nobody gets the chance to try it. So we created out own distribution company which added a whole other level of complexity, but has really become a blessing. A lot of our growth came from just showing up, walking into accounts, pouring samples, hearing “omg, this is amazing” and then going to the next place. It’s been very hands-on and very grassroots. We’ve made many friends in the business and have had incredible support from them along the way.

Like a lot of small companies, capital has also been a challenge. Growth takes money, and sometimes your opportunities grow faster than your resources. We’ve had to be careful, creative, and willing to do a lot, meaning virtually everything, ourselves. There have certainly been moments where things didn’t go according to plan, but those experiences have probably taught us more than the easy wins. Two years ago we left the contract distiller, acquired our Distilled Spirits Permit. and brought production of mMario’s in-house, back to the family. Since then we’ve become better at making Mario’s, better at understanding the industry, and better at knowing who we are as a brand and what we stand for.

The good part is that every challenge has also reinforced why we started. When somebody tastes Mario’s for the first time and you see their reaction, oh man, it really reminds us that there’s something here worth fighting for. I’m super grateful that people continue to give us that opportunity.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At its core, Mario’s is a family business built around a true-espresso liqueur that my father made for the people he loved. He made only one small batch a year and gifted the bottles to friends and family. The fact that people can now try it and love it, and then share it with their friends and family is incredibly humbling, and we’re so thankful for everyone’s support. We like to say we make Mario’s Hard Espresso for Friends, Family and the Friends the become Family, and it’s amazing to be able to fulfill that mission every day.

We make Mario’s Hard Espresso using what is now an 80-year-old Sicilian recipe, and we’ve tried very hard not to lose what made it special in the first place. We still handcraft every bottle with love in very small batches, using only four premium ingredients, and no shortcuts: 100% Arabica dark roast espresso, organic Madagascar vanilla, cane sugar and a grain neutral spirit base. It’s also naturally gluten free and vegan.

I think what sets Mario’s apart is our tradition and authenticity, that the story is real, but that being said the product really has to stand on its own. The thing I’m probably most proud of is that when people taste Mario’s, they usually love it immediately. It’s rich and flavorful with no bitter edge, not overly sweet, and incredibly versatile. You can drink it straight, pour it over ice, (or ice-cream) use it to make a killer espresso martini, add it to classic cocktails, or create something completely new with it. We’re continually amazed at all of the recipes using Mario’s people come up with.

We’ve also been fortunate to have a lot of bartenders embrace Mario’s. That’s meant the world to us because bartenders taste everything, and they’re usually brutally honest about what works and what doesn’t. A lot of what we’ve learned as a company has come from being behind the bar with them, listening and paying attention. We really value their honesty, input and support.

Brand-wise, what I’m most proud of is that we can honor my dad every day. Mario really was my father. That really him on the bottle. He really did make this every year and give it away to friends and family. And we really are still a family business trying to build something that honors him. Oh, and it just so happens that it’s crazy delicious. That’s pretty cool.

Of course we want Mario’s to become a very successful brand, and it’s my job to make sure we never lose sight of how and why it started in the first place. My father made it because he loved bringing people together. Full stop. If we can continue that tradition on a much larger scale, I think we’ll have built something he would be proud of. That’s the ultimate goal.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I’m a native and I love LA, and really all of California. The diversity of locations, people, neighborhoods, art, cuisines, cultures, geography, sports, music. I mean come on! Is there any other place like this on the planet? It’s beautiful, dramatic, entertaining, humbling, frustrating and addictive all rolled into one. And even as a SoCal native, I admire the people that move here from all parts of the globe. They’re the dreamers, the optimists and the believers. They leave wherever they’re from to come here on a personal journey because they believe that anything is possible. That ethos and energy really gets in your blood.
That said, as we all know… the crowds and traffic can be a challenge! I guess you’ve got to have a little bad to appreciate all the good right?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://drinkmarios.com
• Instagram: @marioshardespresso
• Facebook: Mario’s Hard Espresso