Launched in 2021, Darnell Smith’s THC-infused non-alcoholic spirit brand MXXN (pronounced “moon”) has had the distinction — or disadvantage, depending on your perspective — of being ahead of the curve on not one but two beverage trends. Now that consumers have caught up, he’s ready.
Four years since its last release, MXXN is today marking the start of a busy summer with a new SKU — the white rum-inspired Barbados Blanco — that aims to build on the brand’s work positioning itself as a high-end THC-spirit experience, even as the category has commoditized around familiar RTD formats.
“It’s funny — now we realize how far ahead we were in 2021. And finally people are really starting to catch up and catch on,” Smith told BevNET earlier this week.
In the years since MXXN’s launch, hemp THC-infused beverages have dovetailed with rising demand for adult non-alcoholic (ANA) options, and the brand is hoping to catch some of those tailwinds with its latest release. To complement MXXN’s existing tequila (Jalisco Agave), bourbon (Kentucky Oak) and gin (London Dry) analogues, Smith found inspiration in an unique, smooth white rum from Barbados that’s ideal for tropical cocktails, and timed for release at the start of beach season.
Barbados Blanco retails online (both direct to consumer and via marketplaces like Wanderous) and in-stores for $79.99 per 750ml bottle (100mg THC), with a standard 1.5 oz. pour containing 6mg THC.
Smith, a former Diageo marketing executive, also hopes his approach to formulation can separate MXXN from a growing cohort of THC-infused non-alcoholic spirits — names like Artet and AMASS — as well as brands that have recently moved up to the 750ml bottle format, including Brez and Cann. Rather than trying to mask the “astringency and bitterness” that comes with using a THC emulsion (supplied by Vertosa), Smith believes it can be an advantage.
“This astringency and bitterness can actually bring us close to some of the olfactory and other things that cue closer to alcohol,” he said. “So we leaned into it. It’s a nice earthy, astringent finish — when most people try [it] they have to do a double-take. That was the assignment.”
MXXN’s focus on on-premise growth has been both fruitful and fragile, depending on where you are in the country. Smith praised states like North Carolina for “going all-in” on on-premise service, with Missouri, South Carolina and Delaware also in the mix. The brand is also in venues in Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee, with New Jersey on deck.
MXXN’s clear identity, however, doesn’t encompass all non-alcoholic drinking occasions; for that, Smith also operates Bare Zero Proof, makers of uninfused non-alcoholic spirits. The driving concept — particularly as bartenders themselves cut back on their own consumption, Smith noted — is to make bartenders “the star of our story” and provide them “tools to offer choice” to their patrons. There are more “tools” on the way, though Smith is keeping details under wraps for now.
“We’ve always been about trying to set the top end of the market,” he said. “I feel like it’s easy to get caught up in the race to the bottom and people throwing out stuff. The top end is like, ‘okay, people actually thought about this.’ We’re just trying to be a part of that side of the equation and give people options that, you know, they feel fit into their repertoire in a way that doesn’t compromise anything and actually takes them to a new place.”