Farmington Woman Pitches Drinking Vinegar to 'Shark Tank': DVR Alert

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A Farmington woman will make her pitch for a handcrafted mixer for cocktails and soda — vegetable- and fruit-infused vinegars shrubs — on the season premiere the ABC reality show “Shark Tank,” which matches entrepreneurs with investors.

Jess McClary, 32, the CEO of McClary Bros. and maker of Old Timey Drinking Vinegar, auditioned for the program in April, Hometownlife.com reports. She can’t talk about what happened when she made her pitch in June to the business tycoons who star in the series, but said it was “an awesome experience.”

The “sharks” who heard McClary’s pitch were Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec and a guest Shark, actor Ashton Kutcher. Locally, the Emmy Award-winning “Shark Tank” airs on WXYZ-TV, Channel 7, at 9 p.m.

McClary and her husband, Josh, moved to Farmington from the Chicago area after the birth of their 5-year-old twin sons Ben and Jack. The company, which started out small as a Farmington farmer’s market vendor, is named in their honor.

She was researching alternatives for the use of fresh produce in old-fashioned preventative products when she discovered drinking vinegars, which have been used as an elixir since Colonial times. The onset of refrigeration reduced their popularity, but they have since made a comeback as craft cocktails have become more popular.

“I liked that the ingredients were very simple and there weren’t weird preservatives,” McClary said. “Everybody thought I was crazy. But I used the things I had learned in culinary school on how to bring out flavors.”

Today, McClary’s Old Timey Drinking Vinegars are sold in more than 150 locations in a dozen states. The most popular flavor is beet and carrot, which can be mixed with alcohol or sparkling water, sprinkled on salads, added to sauces or used as a marinade.

McClary’s Old Timey Drinking Vinegar was featured on “The List” in February. Watch the clip below.