Rebecca Quinonez, brand ambassador for Ron Zacapa Centenario Rum, shows off a bottle of the new luxury rum introduced in the island recently. - photos by Colin Hamilton/freelance photographer

The brand ambassador for Guatemala's Ron Zacapa Centenario Rum was not an older guy as one would expect. Instead, she is the young, beautiful and energetic Rebecca Quinonez.

In response to my obvious shocked expression, she asked in a bubbly voice, "Oh, you expected someone much frumpier and older?" Well, she says smiling brightly, "It's me".

Quinonez is one of a select group of women who is making strides in a 'man's world'. She is 31 years old and has been in the spirits business for the last eight years. She started out in sales straight out of college. In fact, she dropped out of college to pursue her love. She says the spirit industry is amazing and she loves sharing stories with people thus, it is the perfect job for her.

"Also, I love having a good time. As we know it is a global phenomena for people to sit around a bottle of rum and share stories and that is why I love it so much."

Rum promotion may be considered a man's job so it was no walk in the park when Quinonez decided to take on the job. She says it has been very fascinating because, at first, the men were not as accepting but, after they realised that she knew her stuff and was not just a pretty face, she gained their trust. She started out working with brands such as Cognac and Hennessey then moved on to Johnny Walker and Tequila. But, for the last year, she has embraced the role of brand ambassador for Zacapa.

Travel opportunity

The beautiful Rebecca Quinonez.

She has the opportunity to travel to about 28 countries per year. This year she has already been to 16 countries and in Jamaica she shared with the islanders the new luxury rum. She considers Jamaica to be Appleton country. It's a great brand, but she has been warmly received. Her mission is to share with Jamaicans the lovely taste of Zacapa and the magical story of how it is made.

She notes with pleasure that like Jamaica's master blender, Joy Spence from Appleton Rum, Zacapa also has a female master blender - Lorena Vasquez.

Challenge

With every job comes a challenge and hers is a wish that she could clone herself so that she could be at more than one part of the world at once to spread word of her brand. She adds that the perception is that rum has to be mixed with a chaser but luxury rums such as Zacapa are better had straight up or on the rocks. "The hardest part though is to get people to take the first sip. But, once they do, they usually love it."

Zacapa will also target whiskey and cognac drinkers.