While Rooster prides itself on sending media out to experience destinations first-hand (last year we organised more than 120 trips across ten different countries!), often it just isn’t possible. So how do we still provide inspiring destination experiences? Bring the country to them of course!
Over the last few months Rooster has hosted dedicated blogger events for both the St. Kitts Tourism Authority and Cyprus Tourism Organisation, showcasing Caribbean rum and Cyprus’ annual Rose Water festival.
Step into in any bar in St. Kitts and you will have a plethora of rum cocktails to choose from. Even St. Kitts’ Scenic Railway journey has an on-board complimentary bar, with a menu consisting of ’rum, rum and more rum’.
We transformed 100 Hoxton restaurant into a Caribbean beach shack and rum ambassador Ian Burrell, a regular of Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, provided bloggers with an insight into the history of rum followed by a cocktail-making masterclass.
Rum is a global spirit made and sold all over the world, made in every continent except Antarctica. However, St. Kitts is home to its own speciality brands of rum, including Brinley, Belmont Estate and CSR.
One of Ian’s key facts about rum is that ‘Rum is Fun’, so of course we had to get bloggers behind the bar mixing up their own concoctions of lime rum, passion fruit syrups, agave nectar, vanilla rum, coconut puree and even a ‘Kittspresso Martini’. Accompanied by delicious Kittitian canapes and steel pan music, you wouldn’t think it was a cold night in East London.
In April, Rooster celebrated Cyprus’ annual festival of the rose with an exclusive event for bloggers. The Rose Festival is held each May in the rural Cyprus village of Agros. Famed for its bright and beautiful roses, Agros springs to life as visitor’s flock to learn all about the distillation of the roses, attend exhibitions and take part in workshops.
The group got stuck in with a flower-making tutorial, luxurious beauty treatments and sweet rose-inspired treats from the destination.
The venue was an Instagrammer’s delight, with rose cocktails, a flower wall, and rose nail art in every corner.
Both events resulted in 20 blog posts, with more still to come, and more than 60 social media posts promoting the respective event, and proving you don’t need to be in-destination to demonstrate what it has to offer.
We look forward to hosting more bloggers soon!
By Natalie Garland.
