Aesha Scott has spent years making sure someone else’s drink was exactly right. As chief stew on Below Deck, she has mixed cocktails for demanding superyacht guests, memorized their preferences and learned very quickly which orders make service easier and which ones can derail an entire shift.
Martinis, margaritas and Aperol spritzes are no problem. “It’s so easy. You just put three different things in a shaker, and Bob’s your uncle,” Scott told Delish.
Strawberry daiquiris are another story.
“They’re just so messy, they’re so much more time-consuming, they use so many more ingredients,” she said. “And you just know that they’ve got a taste for irritating drink orders.”
Now Scott is taking everything she learned behind the yacht bar and pouring it into her own business.
Her new venture, Drop, is a canned vodka and coconut water drink available in original, peach and pineapple flavors. The idea grew out of something Scott used to make for herself while working in hot climates.
On her days off, she would mix vodka with coconut water. Eventually, she began wondering whether the simple combination could become something she might one day serve to guests. “I’d think to myself, ‘How cool would it be if I could create something that I could be serving to guests one day?’” she said.
Drop did not begin with coconut water. Scott was initially approached in Australia about developing a peach seltzer, but once the product took shape, she felt it was disappearing into an already crowded category.
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“Everyone does a seltzer,” Scott said. “It’s so boring. Let’s do something no one’s done before.”
That brought her back to vodka and coconut water.
Scott admits she did not always enjoy coconut water. She initially drank it for the electrolytes while working in the heat, then gradually developed a taste for it. For the U.S. launch, she took the company independent and redeveloped the recipes with a focus on keeping sugar and calories low without sacrificing flavor.
“If I’m going to have sugar, I’d rather eat some candy or really enjoy it,” she said. “I don’t want to drink it.” She also wanted the packaging to feel bright and bold without becoming overly busy. Scott describes herself as chaotic and energetic, but she understood the brand needed to stand on its own rather than simply mirror her television personality.
Her years in yacht service gave her a firsthand education in what people actually order, from espresso martinis and lychee martinis to porn star martinis. That experience also convinced her vodka remained the most accessible foundation for a broad range of drinkers.
More importantly, Drop represents a larger shift in Scott’s career. She remains grateful for Below Deck, but after years of being associated with life at sea, she is thinking more seriously about the future. Scott has said she eventually wants to start a family and show fans there is more to her than the role that made her famous.
“I have been doing Below Deck for so long that I am in this stage of my career now where I’m trying to pivot a little bit,” she said. “I don’t want to just be known as Boat Girl.”
Drop gives her a natural bridge into that next chapter. After years of serving everyone else’s perfect drink, Scott is finally putting one of her own in the cooler.
Cheers, Aesha.
