00:00 The relocation of Solara Wines and Spirits from Grey Street on Tragrate Road to Albion
00:08 Plaza on Victoria Avenue comes as the former building is 100 years old and has become unfit
00:15 for purpose. Finance Minister Colman Byrd, who is the acting prime minister at this time,
00:20 says Angostura has been performing well, with growth being experienced annually.
00:26 "They gave me some numbers here, I'm not sure how true they are, but I'll relate them, that
00:33 North American and European markets grew by 34% in 2022, not sure if there's a decimal
00:40 point missing there, and Latin America led a $4 million revenue uptick."
00:49 The acting prime minister notes that Solara Wines and Spirits grew from a retail shop
00:54 at Angostura's compound. He says Solara has doubled its sales in one year and contributes
01:00 to 10% of Angostura's revenue.
01:03 "I'm told that Solara's sales are upwards of $100 million, believe it or not, that little
01:09 wine shop. So it just shows you, because they also sell rum, so it just shows you the power
01:14 of rum."
01:16 Chief Executive Officer of Angostura, Laurent Schoon, reveals that the company is looking
01:22 at expanding Solara across the country.
01:24 "So not just in Marabella or here, this new place, but also looking at some other places,
01:31 maybe in the south, centre, in the east, because we want to make Solara not only the best,
01:37 but the most available wine and liquor store on the island. Question, what will we do from
01:42 Grey Street? Yes, we might have to rebuild, and we're working on some concept. I'm not
01:48 able to disclose right now what will be the concept, but I can tell you this will be beautiful."
01:54 Angostura also has a new release, Symphony 2023, which is a special edition for this
02:00 year and is said to be a tribute to the master blender of Angostura. The company's chairman,
02:05 Terence Barrett, Senior Counsel, has also announced that from January 2024, Angostura
02:12 will have two of its products, an icon of the seas, the largest vessel belonging to
02:17 the cruise ship company, Royal Caribbean Group.
02:21 The success comes on the heels of a fire at Angostura on December 1st. Water couldn't
02:26 be used to get the blaze under control because of the amount of alcohol involved, and workers,
02:31 through quick thinking, began using foam.
02:34 "It could have been really, really catastrophic. And the fire happened in a place that we would
02:41 never have imagined it would have happened, in the botanical area which is used to make
02:46 Angostura bitters."
02:48 Barrett remains thankful to staff, some of them who risked their lives, fire officials
02:54 and other stakeholders like foam companies who all worked hard to ensure the survival
03:00 of Angostura.
03:01 "What I saw happened there where everybody came together. There was no class, there was
03:06 no creed, there was no religion, there was no rank on anybody. Everybody banded together
03:11 to save us."
03:12 Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
03:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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