Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/518118
98 / the tasting panel / june 2015 N atalie Susi never imagined the line between being a high school English teacher in Delaware in 2006 and a contestant on The Millionaire Matchmaker in Los Angeles would be so short. Last year, Susi appeared on the show, got to name-drop her brand, Bare Organic Mixers, and even gave Patti Stanger her own bottle. An East Coast transplant, Susi took a job teaching at San Diego State University in 2009. She saw a market on the West Coast for a refreshing East Coast treat popular in summer and started selling Claudio's Italian Ice, a nod to both her father and her Italian heritage. A frozen mix of fruit juice, sugar and water, Italian ice was a huge hit with friends, who insisted on mixing it with liquor for frozen cocktails. Susi Mixers That Dare to "Bare" Bare Organic Mixers founder Natalie Susi pauses for a break, sporting a branded "gobare" t-shirt that perfectly capture's the brand's flirtatious market- ing strategy using subtle innuendo. WHAT WE'RE DRINKING NATALIE SUSI BLAZES A TRAIL FOR FLAVORFUL ORGANIC AND GLUTEN- FREE COCKTAIL MIXERS by Becky Tsadik / photos by Leigh Castelli