Rob Knowles of Diageo instructs guests on how to identify different tastes in vodka at Smirnoff vodka cocktail reception, held at Stillwell Road, off Stony Hill Road on Tuesday.
Tesi Johnson, Gleaner Writer
ON TUESDAY evening, Mark McKenzie, general manager of Red Stripe Jamaica, played host at his home in the hills of St. Andrew where he invited his guests to embark upon a journey to Russia.
For this, no passport or visa was necessary, as the trip would be made by way of taste. Smirnoff vodka is to Russia, as Red Stripe beer is to Jamaica, so the journey across continents was made via the marrying of the aforementioned spirit and the palate.
At the entrance to the venue, stood three lovely young ladies clad in traditional Russian outfits - and so the journey began.
Each guest was assigned to a tour group and given tour guidelines that should help them make the most of their Smirnoff taste experience. They were instructed to listen out for the DJ's announcement when he would call their group number.
GUESTS ENTERTAINED
In the interim, guests were entertained with Smirnoff blends and the artfully selected tunes played by the DJ. The music was low enough to allow spirited conversation, but loud enough to get everyone's hips moving to the beat. The call was made for the first tour group and the guests made their way across the venue to the huge monitor that was set up for the tour.
They were treated to a Powerpoint presentation on the history of Smirnoff vodka, but by the time the third group's turn came around, the organisers had decided, in the interest of time, to go straight into the tasting.
Nonetheless, the presenter, Rob Knowles of Diageo, gave a verbal synopsis of the history of the spirit and some useful tidbits of information about the distillation process before walking the participants through the taste experience. They were instructed to smell and taste different brands of vodka.
This activity, according to Mr. Knowles, was supposed to help them be more discerning in their selection of spirits. After completing the tour, guests were directed to the pool deck where they were treated to a variety of cocktails.
Many of the guests were promoters for parties that boast Smirnoff as a major sponsor. Among those persons were Philip Palmer and Jermaine Brown of Mad Circle Entertainment, P.J. Wright of Wright Image Entertainment as well as Garth Walker of Platform Media.
