Inside BUI & Co., April Melendez's Spirit-Infused Bake Shop

By April Melendez

April Melendez is the founder of BUI & Co., short for Baking Under the Influence, a small-batch business making alcohol-infused jams, desserts, syrups, and extracts. Based in the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, the business has built a distinctive niche by pairing familiar pantry staples with the flavours of spirits and liqueurs.

The idea took shape during April's last year of college, and she made it official in 2023. What began with boozy cakes has since expanded into a line of spirit-infused jams, jellies, and pantry staples, now sold at farmers markets and events across Dallas–Fort Worth. The product range on the BUI & Co. site runs from Amaretto Apricot Jam and Bourbon Blackberry Jam to Zinfandel Cherry Jam, rum-soaked cake, and whiskey-cooked apple butter.

April's interest in flavour goes back well before the business existed. She says she has been experimenting with flavour since she was doctoring boxed cake mix with peanut butter and jelly in middle school. That early habit of combining ingredients to see what works now runs through a catalogue built around unexpected pairings of fruit, spirit, and sugar.

April serves as Head Baker and Owner and is certified in Food Handler Safety. The desserts are alcohol-infused, and per the business, the alcohol content per dessert is minimal and not enough to cause intoxication, with products recommended for adult consumption only. It is a detail that reflects the care April takes in defining exactly what BUI is and who its products are made for.

From a single idea in a college kitchen to a growing range of jams, cakes, and preserves, April has turned a long-held curiosity about flavour into a business with a clear identity. BUI & Co. gives that curiosity a home, and a steady place at the markets and events where April's work reaches the people who seek it out.