UK based Dominican female entrepreneur wins international drinks industry award

Sisserou rum and coconut cream liqueur, created by Dominican born entrepreneur Julia LaRonde, has won a Bronze medal in the 2016 International Spirits Challenge (ISC) tasting awards.
According to a release, the ISC is the most influential spirits competition in the world, attracting 1,300 entries each year from 70 countries. It is supported by many of the world’s leading spirits producers as the international standard for quality and excellence.
“The award is great news because it puts Sisserou on the world map,” says Julia.  "We recently re-launched the brand and winning this award is a fantastic endorsement of all our efforts to bring Sisserou to a wider national and international market. We also have many loyal customers who will be delighted!”
The Bronze ISC Tasting medal is only awarded after a rigorous seven-day blind tasting period award. To ensure that the spirit meets the exceptional quality standards set by the ISC, each product is judged on aroma, appearance, taste and finish. An ISC spokeswoman explained: “Winning an ISC medal is an outstanding achievement, and underlines a producer’s commitment to quality and innovation.”
Julia, who was born in Dominica and has lived in the UK for almost 21 years, developed the Sisserou brand after watching her grandmother and mother make the liqueur for friends and family. She first launched Sisserou in 1999 and after difficult market conditions, re-launched in 2013.