Originally from Venezuela, Yesiré Rosa has spent a couple of decades living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the United States, where she arrived as an immigrant to start a new life, armed only with her experience and knowledge of whisky.
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New Horizons
Before leaving her homeland, Yesiré was studying Industrial Engineering while working part-time as a promoter for some spirit brands like Buchanan’s and Chivas Regal, a job that allowed her to finance her professional education.
Once settled in Miami, Florida, she worked for four years as a saleswoman for various products at a supermarket chain, and her reconnection with spirits came through marriage, finding in spirits and tobacco a moment of companionship that she had not experienced before.
For Yesiré, each evening was a form of reward after a long day of work. Between drinks and smoke, she shared their best and worst moments of the day, and that was it. “I used to see the consumption of spirits as something merely social; I didn’t expect to find a passion in it like I have now,” she recalls.
But something from her inside motivated her to delve deeper into those conversations, at which point she decided to research and study more about the drinks and cigars she had the opportunity to enjoy. “I wanted to go to a cigar lounge, walk in and choose a cigar with knowledge. Go to a bar and break the stereotype of Ladies’ Night and go beyond the glass of wine to ask the bartender for a neat whisky, no matter how out of the ordinary that might seem,” she explains.
Talent and Passion Have No Gender
Over time, Yesiré, known on social media as @Yesire.Rosa (Be_chic), made a name for herself in the world of spirits, an achievement she feels proud of, as it is an industry, like tobacco, traditionally dominated by men.
According to her, it is a world of continuous learning that involves a lot of passion and patience where gender is irrelevant, with more doors opening every day for women passionate about the art of this industry, such as Rachel Barrie, Scotland’s first Master Blender, with whom she has even had the opportunity to converse during a tasting session.
“Passions cannot be left behind; it’s something you carry in your DNA regardless of whether you are a man or a woman. Maybe today I don’t dedicate myself to it 100 percent, but talking about a bottle and telling the story behind each spirit is something that still excites me,” she says.
Thus, Yesiré affirms and exemplifies that a passion can change your life, through a journey that has taken her to different parts of the continent, involved in one way or another with spirits, not knowing that one day, she would develop a passion and empirical knowledge that has left her with a great taste in her mouth.
