Joe and MariElena Raya launched are the driving force behind Bittermilk Bottling Co. They produce an array of cocktail/mocktail mixers and syrups as well as ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.

They met at the Culinary Institute of America, and when they decided to return to Charleston, MariElena’s hometown, they took over a space her family had run for years and opened The Gin Joint, which is considered to be one of the city’s original cocktail bars of the modern era.

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