Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Doherty and Barbara Snider.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The 4 of us stumbled onto this nectar of paradise they call Guajiro Rum when we were on vacation in the Canary Islands and decided to tour a Rum Distillery. We fell in love with the rum right away because it is smooth and lacks the sharp aftertaste of many of the Caribbean rums. We brought the rum home, and it still tasted as good as it did while were on vacation as a matter of fact even better.
As we shared our discovery, everyone started asking us where they could get Guajiro Rum and the answer was, you could not get it in the United States! So we decided that we would try an import it into the US and that we would just keep our inventory in the garage and surely it would sell. So with this business plan in place, we made contact with a company in Tenerife who sold this rum over the internet and told him we were interested in bringing Guajiro into the US. Coincidentally, he was friends with one of the executives of the Guajiro rum distillery and so it began. We returned to the Canary Islands to meet with the Guajiro executives. This was a long hard meeting but we left having obtained exclusive rights US rights to import Guajiro Rum into the United States. A strong professional and personal relationship have developed over this time with the Guajiro people.
With our contract in place, we were now ready to clean our garage out to store our inventory….ENTER the TABC and TTB. One year later we managed to obtain our importers permit, our wholesale permit, our FDA approvals, our customs bonds, our Texas wholesale permits, the non-resident seller’s permit, the agent’s permit, our carrier permits, the US label approvals, the Texas label approvals and approval for our warehouse that was not located within 300 feet of a church or school! WOW!!!! We were now able to bring Guajiro into the United States.
About this same time we decided to enter our Rums into what we thought was little competition in Miami and we would go to see what the Miami Rum Festival was all about. This was not a small event. All the big rums were there, they had marvelous booths, beautiful people pouring the drinks and all kinds of giveaways and they were all competing. This was very unnerving since the only thing we really had to this point was a warehouse that wasn’t our garage! That night they announced the winners.
First out of the box, GOLD MEDAL for white rum goes to GUAJRIO BLANCO! We did not even get seated and we heard, and the GOLD MEDAL for gold rum goes to GUAJIRO DORADO! We don’t actually remember collecting that medal! We were able to pre-sell Guajiro to a chain of stores and we were given an introduction to a wonderful distributor.
We have been given tremendous support and advice. Barbara Snider and Deborah Doherty formed the import company of DoSn International and together we are proud tenants of a warehouse full of rum. Because they are married to us, Mike Doherty and John Snider, our greatest supporters, mentors and life partners work with us every day. (They are careful to taste test each of our products.)
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We actually entered this business with no background in the liquor business nor experience. We knew that it was going to be tough but we did not know just how hard it is to get a new rum product brought into a market where Caribbean Rums rule. However, we believe in our product and enjoyed the challenges.
It is especially hard to give up weekends with your family and time to relax to go out and market Guajiro. This is a young person’s game and we are not very young. The hundreds of rules, regulations and permit costs contributed substantially to our expenses. Never did we imagine we would need nearly 100 permits or approvals before we sold even one bottle. We do not have a budget for the mega advertising the big name brands do, so we have to really work hard to get our brand out there with grassroots marketing.
Many evenings, we would meet for a late supper with sore backs, feet and throats, from telling our story so many times.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are so proud of our product. People who try it, love it. We are also proud that our company has the reputation of doing what is promised and our distributor and the liquor stores can rely on us to support the marketing of Guajiro Rums on a personal basis.
All three Guajiro Rums are distilled from sugar cane as opposed to molasses that many rums are distilled from today. Hence the smooth taste. It was Christopher Columbus who actually brought the sugar canes from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean on his second voyage! GUAJIRO RUMS are not your Caribbean Rums! When one thinks of Rum, one usually thinks of the Caribbean, but the fact is that rum was around long before sugar cane was even brought to the Caribbean.
The Guajiro Rums are distilled by a family distillery that was incorporated in 1948 but had been actually producing rums since the early 1800’s.The white and gold rums are 80 proof, extremely smooth. Many people will double the rum in their mixed drinks because it is THAT smooth. We like the Guajiro Dorado (gold) with coke & lime. The Blanco (white) is super for daiquiri’s etc. and again because of the smoothness of the white rum, it is often served as a double as well. Guajiro Honey Rum is very popular.
It is a very sweet tasting drink and is best served ice cold with a bit of lemon. This is a 30 percent alcohol treat and is great for after dinner. Conversely, we have several friends that mix it with various types of lemonade and drink it as a summer drink. Pour a bit of Honey Rum over Ice Cream….and be prepared for a taste of heaven. All three of these premium rums are sold in 1-liter bottles.
A word about Honey Rum. This particular Spanish drink was given its own special status with a Geographical Designation by the Canary government in 2005. This meant that strict rules are in place to ensure the quality, flavor and correct production procedures are followed, with an aim of protecting the artisan qualities of the honey rum. In order to keep its official name, the rum must be produced within the Spanish region of the Canary Islands. Canary Honey Rum is quite rare outside of Europe and we offer it only in the State of Texas right now.
Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
The liquor business is an industry that never stands still and constantly reinventing itself and its products. We hope to see laws maintained so the smaller independent liquor stores can continue to operate. However, we do foresee the larger liquor stores in the urban areas taking over the business from smaller independent stores. Historically it takes 5 to 10 years to successfully introduce a product to the general public and we hope to be part of the trend going forward.
Pricing:
- Priced around $20 to $25 per bottle
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dosn.com
- Phone: 713-447-2480
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/guajirorums
Image Credit:
Barbara Snider
Debbie Doherty
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