Where Are They Now: HHS ’97 Grad Jason Zimecki Now Vodka Entrepreneur

In the late 1980s, a then 11-year-old Herndon resident named Jason Zimecki had a regular routine. He would cautiously sneak into the kitchen, thirsting for his newly discovered favorite drink. As he made sure no one was watching, he would open the refrigerator, find the big glass jar, screw off the top and take a giant swig… of pickle juice. Yes, pickle juice.

Jason said he could not get enough of it. And his pallet never changed. It is now 22 years later, and the budding entrepreneur has found a way to share his fascination with the world. Zimecki partnered with liquor mogul Sazerac and is the proud founder of Naked Jay’s Big Dill Pickle-Flavored Vodka.

“We’re listed in the state of Virginia and we’re in over 90 ABC stores,” said Zimecki. “We have accounts with bars and restaurants from Virginia Beach to Richmond.”

Zimecki’s journey began at the end of the 2008 NFL season at Fed Ex Field in Landover, MD. He and his friends were tailgating in the parking lot at a Redskins’ game when they ran out of mixture for their vodka shooters. Zimecki began searching for anything to add to the vodka, when suddenly he noticed something that brought him back to his childhood.

“There was a jar of pickles. And I started making vodka and pickle juice shots,” Zimecki said. “It was a hit. We would then go to parties and I would mix up the infamous shots.”

The party king became intrigued with the popularity of his concoction and started making his own pickles at home. Zimecki had spent most of his adult life working in the restaurant business and had bar tended for years. He took that experience and knowledge and used natural ingredients to forge “the perfect tasting pickle.” Zimecki mixed cucumbers and his secret ingredients into a fusion jar and added mid-grade vodka. He became so enthralled with his project that he would make batches in hotel rooms while traveling on business for his day job.

“I wanted to get rid of the vodka bite and have it taste like pickle juice,” he said. “I wanted it to come out to a 60 to 70 proof vodka. Once I got the formula created, I started bottling it in airplane bottles and came up with my own logo.”

After two to three months he discovered the winning recipe and felt it time to move on to the next big step.

“I got in touch with a major player in the liquor industry, in Sazerac,” he said. “I presented my idea to them, one thing led to another and they were sold on it and our partnership was born in mid 2010.”

It has been less than two years since that Redskins’ game and Zimecki is now realizing his life-long dream. He attempted several other business ventures in years past including a T-shirt biz, traveling with the famous Vans Warped Tour, and acting in Hollywood. But Zimecki said he always wanted to somehow go back to his college bartending roots and become involved with the liquor industry.

“My father and mother had their own business and I always said one day I wanted to work for myself,” he said. “I always have ideas and have always been in the bar and restaurant industry and said, ‘This is something I want to be a part of.’ I started in Wilmington, N.C. where I went to college. And I tended bar at Ned Devine’s for many years.”

Zimecki collaborated with Sazerac’s quality control team for approximately one year to get the recipe just right, now that the company was using its own brand of vodka. But once the team dialed it in, branding was the last major step before introducing it to the public.

“Naked Jay was an old brand that Sazerac had in their portfolio and they said it would fit the product perfectly,” Zimecki said regarding the name of the new product.

The people at Sazerac also believed Naked Jay was serendipitous since Zimecki’s first name is Jason. Taglines were introduced for marketing such as "Let the fun fly" and "Expose yourself to Naked Jay," and a whipped cream flavored vodka was added to the brand as well. Zimecki said this all helped steer his product toward the 21-35-year-old, laid back, T-shirt and jeans crowd. Aside from selling bottles in stores, Zimecki, who has taken on the title of brand ambassador, and Sazerac have marketed a signature wedding drink they have branded “Jay’s Pickled Ale," which consists of one part Naked Jay vodka and two parts ginger ale. Zimecki added that Big Dill goes great with other drinks as well.

“Our goal is to get everyone from here on out to mix Naked Jay’s Big Dill Pickle-Flavored Vodka into their Bloody Mary,” he said.

The social media-marketing group Zehnder is now on board with Naked Jay. They help promote both Jason and the product on fan-favorite Internet sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, Zimecki spends the majority of his time traveling, along with reps from the broker Republic National, to promotional events, tastings and adding new accounts throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

“We’re doing global tastings at ABC stores and we had a promotional party recently,” he said. “I can’t stress enough about the help from the people at Sazerac. I’m still learning about making vodka on this side of the bar.”

Sazerac apparently feels confident in Zimecki as well. A representative from the company said he had the “entrepreneurial spirit” it also embraces.

“His creative idea of dill pickle flavored vodka had not yet been tested in the marketplace,” Tracey Clapp said. “And it intrigued Sazerac, so much so that they were willing to give it a whirl. Jason has a big personality, the exact type of personality that is needed to hatch a brand.”

So, what does this young entrepreneur plan on doing now that his dream has become a reality? Zimecki said he loves his day job in the training department for the chain Five Guys, but said he hopes to eventually work full-time on Naked Jay. And one day he might even like to indulge in the luxurious life of a retiree.

“I don’t want to quit my current job because I love what I do, he said. “But the ultimate goal is to sit on a yacht in the British Virgin Islands and not do anything for the rest of my life.”

Find naked Jay on Facebook at Naked Jay Vodka or visit the website, www.nakedjay.com.