India’s only Agave drink available in 5 flavours launched at an event which was a flavourful fiesta of fun and Goa’s spirit
Goa witnessed the grand launch of Gracia Viva Agave, India’s only Agave drink available in 5 flavours, on 2nd
November, with a new flavour launching soon. Positioned as ‘Carnival of Flavours’ this brand has truly understood the Goan love for party, fun times with family and friends, and the carnival spirit. The 5 flavours available are Passion Fruit, Ferry Foss, Blueberry, Wildly Raw and Yuzzu.
A maiden venture of Kantala Spirits, all stops were pulled out for a grand event at Parra’s Emerald Lawns. The company’s three directors are Suzann Homan, Kiran Ullal and Keith Fernandes. Suzann is a Goan from Mumbai, with strong roots in Goa, Kiran is from Bangalore − the pub capital of India, and Keith Fernandes is Parra’s very own CEO of Slipdisc Advertising.
Suzann is the driving force behind this brand; she conceptualised it as homage to her late mother Grace Fernandes, who came up with the original recipe for this drink. The story of the brand’s etymology is mentioned in
detail on the bottle labels. Kiran is the Finance Head and Keith is the Marketing and Advertising Head.
The Event
The who’s who of Goa were present at the launch, sampling the cocktails being served from 5 bar stations, 1 for each flavour. The food by Vasquito’s Taqueria, in keeping with the Mexican spirit, consisted of tacos, sliders, and burritos. Suffice to say, it was lapped up the minute it appeared on the table.
Tidal Wave belted out classic rock and foot-tapping popular numbers.
The show stopper of the evening was MC Smug Smyler, who has also composed Gracia Viva Agave’s anthem. MC Smug Smyler stole the show with his spirited live performance.
The Chief guests for the evening were Delilah Lobo, MLA of Siolim and Daniel Lobo, Deputy Sarpanch of Parra and youth leader. Daniel exhorted the youth to seek inspiration from the brand and be a ‘job creator’ not a ‘job seeker’, encouraging the youth to get into entrepreneurship.
MLA Delilah Lobo was proud that an international level brand has its roots in Parra. She was thrilled to see that Suzann had dedicated the drink to her mother’s memory. In a heart touching speech, she asked for more push to local talent, to local brands and businesses. It was truly a Goa-focussed night, with the best that the state had to offer, on display.
The Battle of the Bartenders
If Slipdisc.in is involved, a Battle Event is never far behind. The grand finale of the launch featured the highly anticipated Battle of the Bartenders The finale event of the launch was the Battle of the Bartenders. 30 of Goa’s best bartendershad clashed in two roundsearlier, and the 10 best made it to the finals. They were judged by Sandeep Verma, Tobias Caravalho and Maria Ramirez. Verma is a well known name in the F&B industry, Tobias Caravalho is a multiple time winner of Best Bartender, and Maria Ramirez- a tequila expert from Mexico, flew down all the way to judge the event.
The winners were: Rajesh of Blacksheep Bistro who won the `50,000/- cash prize while Sandeep of Analogue won the second place and walked away with the `30,000/- cash prize. The third place saw a tie between Sherwin of Petisco and Aniket of Second House. Both took away `15,000/- cash prize each.
from Suzann Homan
The cocktails were magical, all the participants brought their best game to the bar station. The advertising and
marketing of Gracia Viva Agave is being handled by Slipdisc Advertising, a homegrown local agency. The brand shoot was done by Syedz Photography. The styling of the model was by Monty Sally. The makeup artist
for the shoot was Samiksha Karmalkar Harjee and the shoot coordination was by Rahila.
The launch event was curated by Slipdisc.in and Sid Suhas Events.
For more info on Gracia Viva Agave log on to their Instagram page: gracia_viva_ agave
