Lawrence Cisneros and Brandon Schwartz loved the idea of canned cocktails, but they weren’t impressed by the big brands offered in stores. Unwilling to compromise on quality for convenience, the SoCal entrepreneurs launched Drnxmyth and shook up the industry.

Drnxmyth delivers an authentic cocktail bar experience with its blend of real ingredients and unique innovation. From Bourbon Sour to Margaritas, every flavor is made with cold-pressed fruit juice sourced from California farms. Meanwhile, their twist-to-mix technology keeps the alcohol separate for impossibly easy and truly fresh drinks every time.

Recently, we caught up with Lawrence to learn more about his journey and hear his advice for fellow entrepreneurs.

1. Why did you start Drnxmyth?

I wasn’t an expert drink maker — and I was usually more of a beer drinker — but I always loved a great cocktail! When my girlfriend (now wife) would ask me to make craft cocktails for get-togethers, I found the ingredient prep to be frustrating. Ultimately, it took time away from hanging out with our friends and would result in subpar drinks. I tried a few canned cocktails, but I couldn’t find any that tasted fresh, like the ones we’d have at our favorite cocktail spots in LA.

Drinks at the cocktail bar couldn’t be distributed outside the bar for regulatory and food safety reasons. It seemed like a tough problem to solve, but I wanted easily accessible drinks that could be sold in stores without compromising on quality.

We started Drnxmyth because we knew if we could create the requisite technology and supply chain — along with a powerful brand — we’d have unique opportunities in the market. Now, we’re able to partner with world famous bartenders for recipes, collaborate with renowned spirit brands, and sell to iconic hotels and nightclubs.

2. What obstacles did you face along the way?

Many. Our aim was to take the ready-to-drink cocktail to its maximal degree by recreating the live craft cocktail experience with fresh juices and bottling it. We started with just an idea and little in the way of money or experience. So, we had to be creative, work hard, and, ultimately, persist.

First, we needed a dual chamber bottle to keep the alcohol from adulterating the cold-pressed juice. That type of packaging didn’t exist at the time, so we had to invent it ourselves.

Then, we had to develop a brand new supply chain and figure out how to blend and bottle fresh juices in a distillery environment — no U.S. alcohol manufacturer had the ability or regulatory license to handle fresh juices. We partnered with an existing fresh juice bottling facility and acquired our own license at that property. Convincing them wasn’t easy.

We also wanted to keep our juice fresh without heat pasteurization or preservatives. That required the use of high pressure technology, something no other alcohol company had ever done before.

On top of that, we had to convince early investors we could pull this off without a final — or even rudimentary — product in hand. We had to be first in a number of areas, but it was all necessary to bring our simple, yet powerful, idea to life.

3. What lessons do you have for other entrepreneurs?

It’s okay to do things differently, but make sure it really matters to the customers you’re trying to reach. Ideally, you’ll want to figure out a way to keep your processes and intellectual property proprietary.

Don’t waste your time trying to copy other people. Big companies do that and they have way more resources than you. You have to have the insight big companies are missing, backed by validating metrics like honest feedback from family, friends, and consumers. Their feedback will be more nuanced and valuable than some report given to an executive elsewhere.

4. What’s on the horizon for Drnxmyth?

More products at Bristol Farms! We currently have about five cocktails at Bristol Farms but we have 18 in total and they’re all amazing!

Right now we’re working on a 750ml party size container to give people the equivalent of four Drnxmyth bottles for the price of three. We’re also moving into the nightclubs, concerts, and events space so people can enjoy our drinks in fun environments. Our team is also working on a number of collaborations including a podcast and a celebrity-inspired cocktail series.

5. How do you keep work/life balance? What drives/inspires you?

Why does there have to be balance when I’m having so much fun? I love being in the field, making the product, selling the product, and capturing social media content. Still, it can be grueling to take investor calls, pitch the product to new clients, and decide on new cocktails to launch all at once.

I’m driven by the opportunity to showcase our world-class product in person. People have never seen anything like Drnxmyth before and it’s something that we started from scratch on the back of a napkin. Now, we’re partnering with new companies on a daily basis. We know that we have enough time to make our mark in the world. This industry is as old as human civilization itself, but we know that we can set a new standard for quality and go down in the history books.

Co-founders Lawrence Cisneros and Brandon Schwartz have developed a proprietary and patented fresh-bottling technology to mix fresh juices with alcohol creating a new super-premium category of “fresh” in the ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail category. Having proven the demand for the product and technology via its eCommerce channel, DrnxMyth is now focusing on manufacturing in the U.S. and scaling for its national retail distribution plan.

“We are very excited about this segment within the beverage industry” said Richard Wolpow, Managing Director of Red Door Capital Partners. “We have never seen the combination of product and patented technologies create such a level of interest, it truly is a game changer in the ready-to-drink alcohol category. The Series A Round was led by one of the nations’ leading beverage venture firms, with co-investments from other recognized names in the space such as: Goat Rodeo Capital, a venture fund focused on opportunities in alcoholic beverages, and 99 Proof, Doehler Ventures, Spiral Sun Ventures, and Vamos Ventures. Red Door is proud to invest side-by-side with them all. We also welcome a new group of family office investors through our relationship with FORCE Family Office, I would specifically like to acknowledge and thank Rubicon Wealth Management of Blue Bell. PA,” Wolpow concluded.

Commenting on Red Door’s investment into DrnxMyth’s Series A Round, Lawrence Cisneros, CEO, “We are thrilled to have Red Door join our team as we continue to scale up distribution and drive retail growth. Their confidence in our company and intellectual property means a great deal to us, and we are grateful for their support as we continue to innovate and bring our products to new markets so people everywhere can have the best tasting bottled cocktails,” Cisneros concluded.

About Red Door Capital Partners LLC

The Red Door team is a team of industry experts from private equity operations, investment, wealth management, and legal services, that have joined together to identify, invest in, and manage private equity transactions. Many Red Door opportunities are investing side-by-side with institutional funds and family offices with terms and safeguards in place typically only provided to institutional investors. Red Door partners with founders and entrepreneurs that seek real capital partners to create collaborative relationships, deploy strategic oversight, implement governance and professionalize operations – all to ensure our family of investors are protected and prepared for a successful exit transaction. For more information on Red Door and its latest transactions visit www.reddoorcp.com or contact us at info@reddoorcp.com

About DrnxMyth

DrnxMyth, known for its patented bottle technology that allows for the creation of fresh bottled cocktails, has experienced rapid growth over the past three years. Led by Lawrence Cisneros, a former attorney and influencer in the LA Latino community who turned to alcohol entrepreneurship, the company has used its proprietary twist-to-mix bottle technology that employs high-pressure technology to stabilize cold-pressed juice for nine months without heat pasteurization or preservatives. As a result, this now-proven cocktail concept has generated over $6.5 million in revenue. With an 11% compound annual growth rate propelling forward the RTD category, DrnxMyth is poised to become the leader in the ultra-premium RTD segment, which is growing at 600% year-over-year.