After Rachel (Ray Ray) Dacquisto graduated from Mountain View High School, she set out to find her passion. After a few years in college in Phoenix, she spent 10 years in the Bay Area working in just about every hospitality job, from dishwasher to certified sommelier.
"Northern California was my coming of age," in the beverage industry, she said,
In San Francisco, Ray was drawn to the flavors and smells of the beverages she created and poured. Along the way, she created some fantastic signature drinks that friends and clients would return to enjoy time and again.
Today, one of her beverages is making a mark back home in Tucson: Ray Ray's Sonoran Spirit Tea! Ray carefully blends black and hibiscus tea, a smidge of agave sweetener, vodka, citrus flavors, and a spritz of bubbles. It's a low alcohol (4.7%) drink she describes as "light, refreshing, thirst quenching. Not too sweet, not too fruity, not even too much tea." And it's not a malted beverage like hard ciders. The tea is distilled."
Her spirit teas were a hit! Today, she produces roughly 1,000 gallons of her spirit tea a month.
But it's been a long three years of mastering her craft, growing her distribution across Arizona, managing logistics, sourcing capital, and making sure her young daughters (then three months old and three at the start) and dad had something to eat in the car while she was meeting with a potential client in a bar or restaurant.
One prospective reseller would have makers line up with other beverage makers, and it could be hours before her turn to pitch. "One time, I had to order a pizza for them while they waited in the car." They had books to read, coloring pads, and other things to pass the time.
Her husband, aunts, friends, and neighbors all provide the emotional and personal support needed to pull something like this off. Her tribe is her focus group: tasters, logo reviewers, website editors, and emotional support team.
With her recipes proofed out, Ray started her first round of production. "I bought some kegs with the money in my pocket," she said. When those kegs were filled and then sold wholesale to local bars, she'd buy a few more kegs. One batch at a time. This year, her spirit teas are handled by a professional distributor that delivers statewide.
But getting to this point was, time and again, marked by long days and nights learning the basics of scaling her business. "I found mentors through Start-Up Tucson and began the project," expanding her knowledge, including ways to secure working capital -- "a few small grants" -- and even safety testing at a University of Arizona food lab that helped assess the optimal handling of a consumer product from start to finish.
A major milestone came when she found a more secure perch to build her teas at Thunder Canyon Brewery on Broadway downtown. Steve Tracy, founder of the iconic craft brew spot, offered her space to work on her product. After 27 years as a staple in the local craft beer community, Tracy retired three years ago, turning over his brewery to employees who now own it.
After COVID, Ray was on a mission to get her teas into the hands of future fans. She would set up a tasting table at AJ's Fine Foods, farmers markets, and other locations. People encouraged her to keep going, and she did.
Today, brewery owners James Owens (former general manager of Thunder Canyon) and Michael Nixon (former head brewer) invest heavily in time and equipment to help Ray produce increasingly large batches of canned tea. On a sunny morning last month, Dixon was a dervish, flying around pallets of empty cans and a fast-paced production line that, in a few hours, would crank out more than 4,000 cans of the original spirit tea as well as a new prickly pear variety.
"My parents have always been so supportive of me," Ray recalled, adding that her circle of friends and collaborators at the downtown brewery are incredible allies. "We are supported, and it is reciprocated," Ray said. "Tucson has really shown up for us!"
Her attention is now focused on broadening her reach with Swift Distribution. Flagstaff has been a massive market for her line of refreshing drinks. She says it's a lifestyle product sought by rock climbers, skiers, and mountain bikers who want an adult beverage that is flavorful, crisp, light, and doesn't make you feel bloated.
Ray works in the back of the brewery, testing a new style made with green tea, surrounded by massive brewery stills and vats and a workbench with vials, beakers, and notepads.
"We're turning a passion project into a business," Ray said. "I'm focused on earning a living and watching it grow."
We're turning a passion project into a business. Tucson has really shown up for us!