George Christian from Pirates Den Pub, Tortuga Rum Company Sales Manager Michelle Douglas and model Jade at TASTE featuring Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka.

Tortuga Liquors on Thursday, 9 July hosted a wide-ranging product tasting event.

Featured beverages included Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka, Amarula Cream, the wines of Kim Crawford and Clos du Bois among others.

The event was attended by locals, tourists and members of the hospitality industry. The product showcase began at The Tortuga Liquors Greenery location with an invitation-only preview for the hospitality industry held from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm before the public was invited in beginning at 5:00 pm through 7:00 pm.

“We are starting this new event at The Greenery to introduce more people to the many interesting brands of spirits, liqueurs and wines that they may have never been able to sample before. We plan to include an educational component – learning about a product’s history and how it is made, drink ideas and food pairings – each event customized to highlight the featured brands,” said Assistant Managing Director of Tortuga Rum Company, Monique Hamaty-Simmonds, whose father Robert Hamaty founded the company 25 years ago.

“We invite everyone throughout the community as well as island visitors to partake in these special events,” she said.

According to a Tortuga press release Zubrowka is one of the best Polish vodkas available, flavoured with bison grass and long-renowned for its luxurious flavours and stellar quality.

A South African liqueur, Amarula Cream is made from the fruit of the exotic Marula, a centuries-old tree found on the plains of Southern Africa.

Kim Crawford wines are from New Zealand and Clos du Bois is a 30-year-old winery in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County, California.

The Tortuga Rum Company also hosts free “Art, Food & Wine Tastings” from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on the fourth Thursday of each month at the Tortuga Liquors’ Governors Square location featuring local artists, appetizers from area restaurants and wine sampling.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, Tortuga Rum Company, Ltd. is a family owned and operated business headquartered in Grand Cayman with franchise bakeries in Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas.

It is the largest duty-free and retail liquor business in the Cayman Islands. There are five Tortuga Liquors retail locations in Grand Cayman: The Greenery, Royal Watler, The Marquee, Industrial Park and Governors Square, which offers a selection of more than 300 wines from around the world.

Tortuga offers over a dozen premium and flavoured rums and Tortuga rum liqueurs as well as all major brand-name liquors. In addition to its award winning rums, the company is known for its world famous Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cakes, named 2009 “Best Cruise Souvenir” by Porthole Cruise magazine for the fifth consecutive year.

The company said future tasting events at the recently remodeled Tortuga Liquors’ Greenery location would be announced soon.