Collab Lab: Coconut's Come-Up Kids

Meet Mike and Dani Zig, the brother-sister duo behind the Coconut Grove-based powerhouse Coconut Cartel. 

Few things are as synonymous with the hustler spirit of Miami as their ubiquitous brand. In the early days, Mike ‘smuggled’ coconuts in suitcases up from El Salvador, which ended up in the hands of Drake, Kendall Jenner, Martha Stewart, and guests at some of Miami’s exclusive hotels. The company may have started as purely coconuts, but the Zigs took it one step further by spiking single-origin Guatemalan sipping rum with these wildly rare, wildly unique coconuts for some of the smoothest rum you’ve ever tasted. Meant for sipping straight (but really, neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail will show out), their speciality blend is packed with subtle tropical notes, vanilla, oak and salt with a smooth finish.

For our Salted Coconut Grapefruit Daiquiri (v) (available at our Wynwood Scoop Shop) we take their gorgeous, single-origin Guatemalan sipping rum and mix with fresh Florida grapefruit and puckery citrus bitters. Then, we blend it in with coconut cream and serve it straight for a lush escape.

In nothing short of a revolution, Dani, the 29 year old female CEO, has led Coconut Cartel to revitalize the rum industry in the United States while simultaneously lifting communities in both Guatemala and El Salvador. Coconut Cartel’s partnership with Guatemalan rum distillers (something that took years of cultivation) and reactivation of over 3000 acres of farmland in El Salvador, hiring locals to harvest this seemingly insatiable demand for coconuts has rightfully earned Dani a spot atop Forbes’ 30 under 30 for 2021.

Born in Miami to their Guatemalan mom and El Salvadorian dad, the Zigs spent childhoods drinking these same coconuts on the beach, so it’s only fitting that Coconut Cartel embodies their multi-cultural roots. The bottle itself is a symbolic nod to old Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. Pelicans, a cigar tax wrapper-inspired neck band, and strong architectural lines adorn the outside of the bottle, while the inside is straight up family heritage. 

Now in its eighth year, Coconut Cartel continues to shake up the spirits industry with distribution up and down the East Coast, and some major distribution growth on the West Coast (ie, get ready West Coast, Coconut Cartel is landing in shops near you soon).