By Nicholas Mc Kay
At 23, Dixie Jordan is almost unique in her choice of entrepreneurial pursuit. Here in Guyana, the manufacture of alcohol or alcohol based (laced?) beverages has traditionally the purview of the ‘heavy hitters’ and here the names Banks DIH Ltd., And Demerara Distillers comes
immediately to mind. If the ambitious young Buxtonian’s credentials hardly match those of the two giants in the local alcohol/alcohol-based sector, her standout quality is her seeming determination to direct her limited resources into aiming at the ‘top shelf’ in terms of her choice of entrepreneurial venture.
Remarkably, her establishment, Punche de Crème, has come this far with the requisites that are associated with the manufacture of rum spirits and sophisticated liqueur. What, today, is marketed as Dixie’s Punche de Crème derives from a largely unsophisticated tasting process – largely at the level of family and friends that eventually yields a preferred product. Not that Dixie’s Punche de Crème emerged directly from what one might call a ‘tasting lottery’ out of which the final choice is made by a show of inexpert hands, Dixie asserts her credentials as a professional Mixologist, having been trained and certified at the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute. “[They taught us] how to combine flavours using natural products to produce these amazing cocktails,” she told the Stabroek Business.