Tyrone Laing: The Portland man who gave D&G its sorrel rum
Tyrone Laing, who hails from Drapers in Portland, has played a key role in the development of D&G Sorrel Rum, one of the newest commodities on the market.
But he ended up in the spirits business by accident, having being rejected twice by the University of Technology where he had applied for a place in its degree programme in architecture.
“I was so disappointed. After two years of trying, I was despondent. But my uncle talked some sense into me and helped me to get into HEART, where I got as far as a Level 3 in electro-mechanical maintenance,” Laing, a past-student of Port Antonio and Titchfield High, said.
Laing landed an internship at Red Stripe in 2005, and as they say, the rest is history. He is now the spirits plant operator. And although not part of his day job, Laing was challenged to come up with an innovation that would create some excitement in the market. The gauntlet was thrown down from the top of the supply chain shortly after the new director joined the team a year ago.
“Michael (Greyer) told me to come up with something, but I said to myself, ‘I’m not responsible for innovations, that is not really my job,’ so I didn’t do anything. Two months later, he came back to find out what I had come up with. When I told him nothing, he asked me if I knew that he could fire me,” Laing recalled.
Soon thereafter, he was in the lab with the liquid developer, trying out recipes, providing insight and support as he helped to drive the project. D &G Sorrel Rum was born.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am about this product. I actually love it. People who wouldn’t call themselves rum drinkers love it. [I’m] really proud of what we have [been] able to achieve,” Laing said.
Nomonde Donsa, Red Stripe’s head of marketing and innovation, said the company has completed the testing phase for the product.
“I am here to tell you that D&G Sorrel Rum is something spectacular,” Donsa said.