Tobago Gold bottles Carnival spirit, delights the world

Developed in a kitchen at Arnos Vale, Plymouth, Tobago Gold, a premium liqueur, has been delighting the tastebuds of people around the world for the last six months.

The chocolate rum cream is a combination of spices, intense Trinitario cocoa and 17 per cent Caribbean white rum.

The cocoa-pod bottle design, which can be added to any collection, is environmentally-friendly and made from advanced technology. It was engineered by marketing consultant Che Hernandez.

The liqueur can be bought locally at leading supermarkets, hotels, bars and duty-free outlets. Internationally, it is available on the retail shelves of countries such as Italy, Iceland, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Holland and Canada.

The award-winning product is the signature of Lars Soderstrom, CEO and founder of Tobago Gold Europe BV.

Soderstrom is proud of his product for being distilled with a higher percentage of cocoa and superior quality of white rum than other liqueur brands.

He told Newsday during an interview last week, “I wanted to bring a Caribbean flavour with the values of Carnival to the world – creativity, happiness, inclusiveness, have fun together and creating personality.”

He said apart from the rewarding taste, Tobago Gold is also a healthy choice with a variety of spices.

“It is also low in fats and sugars and high in antioxidants."

He said the product stands well on its own but can also enhance other flavours.

“The versatile product adds a rich aroma and taste to desserts, such as ice cream, cakes and cocktails and is a splendid drink when heated. It is a great gift to present to family and friends when travelling abroad.”

Originally an engineer from Sweden, Soderstrom held several managerial positions across Europe and America, before coming to Trinidad in 2000. He is a former TSTT marketing vice president, ex-CEO at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation in Barbados, and past business development adviser at the Inter-American Development Bank.

While living in Trinidad, in 2004 Soderstrom bought the abandoned 365-acre La Caurita cocoa estate, in the El Tucuche hills, at Maracas Valley.

To bring the estate back to life, Soderstrom said he received grants and technical support from the Agriculture Development Bank and the Cocoa Development Company, to replant and prune the cocoa trees and build a new cocoa house.

Soderstrom, who owns a property in Maraval, has made Tobago his home for the past seven years. His European-style house, perched on the hills in Plymouth, overlooking the sea, is the inspiration behind the name of his creation.

“I was not looking for a house at the time, but when I came across the property on social media, I came to Tobago the same day and agreed to purchase it. I was captivated by the panoramic view and natural surroundings, which were enriched with gorgeous birds and wild habitat.

“Look outside of the house. It makes you happy, and everyone who comes here loves it. Tobago is beautiful, clean, green and serene. The natural beauty is the inspiration behind the name of our product.”

He said Tobago Gold's popularity will make the island known around the world.

As he owns a cocoa estate, it was natural that Soderstrom would look to develop a product with the pods. After becoming a certified chocolate maker in Vancouver, Canada, in 2013, his first vision was to create a new chocolate brand in partnership with the Grenada Chocolate Company, but the deal fell through with the death of its CEO.

This setback did not deter him from exploring other ventures with cocoa beans.

"In early January 2020, I asked one of my employees, who is an excellent chef: can you try to make a recipe with cocoa tea and rum?

“We tasted over 200 blends in my kitchen, and by the end of January, we came up with a chocolate cream liqueur prototype.”

With a refined product in bottles, and the support of a network of overseas colleagues built via his international background, Soderstrom left Tobago on a promotional tour to Europe and New York.

“I took one of those early-morning flights to America, and my first stop, at 6 am, was on Fifth Avenue in New York.

“Coincidentally, the first two people I met were a Trini from Moruga and an East Indian gentleman who has a Trini wife. I gave them a drink and they loved it.

“I then went nearby to the Harvard Club, where I met an experienced Egyptian bartender. I gave him a sample drink, and he said, 'Very good, but it needs more rum.' The bartender added more rum, at no cost to me, and we agreed that 17 per cent was good.

“When I went to countries in Europe such as Italy, Sweden and Holland, all the people I met loved the taste.

He said a prominent wine adviser in Rome called it "the champagne of liqueurs."

He added, "A top spirits CEO in Belgium said, 'I will give you 12 out of ten for taste.'”

During his promotional tour, Soderstrom attracted the interest of large buyers and investors in Europe, and began commercial production of Tobago Gold, in Holland. He described Holland as the best hub for manufacturing and shipping liqueur in the world. “All the ingredients, including Trinitario cocoa, which originated in Trinidad, and is the strongest cocoa and most expensive in the world, are available in Europe.”

Trinidad, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Canada and Belgium were the first countries to receive shipments of the industrial version of Tobago Gold, in August 2021.

The liqueur has has been receiving rave reviews. It won two triple gold medal awards, for taste and packaging design, at the World Spirits Awards in Michigan, USA, in 2021. In October 2021, Tobago Gold captured a silver medal, at the Autumn Blind Tasting Awards, in London.

“Winning the awards brought visibility, credibility, a stamp of approval and much-needed investments, used towards establishing the product and penetration other markets.”

Soderstrom, who describes his small highly-skilled team of employees as a mixture of Caribbean creative talent and experience, along with overseas management skills, is excited about the rapid progress and bright outlook for the company.

“In six months, Tobago Gold has become a hit around the world. We have attracted investors, expanded to new markets, won awards and produced 10,000 litres in 2021.

“This year we are focused on exploring new markets in Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. We are also aiming to increase production to 70,000 litres of drinks, as we predict a turnover of around $6 million.

“My priority right now is to find investors and distributors. I am currently talking to investors in Italy, USA and Trinidad. I actually received a (TT)$500,000 investment from the USA today.”

Looking ahead, Soderstrom said, “Our ten-year goal is to become a global leader in the chocolate cream liqueur market and position Tobago Gold as the premier rum liqueur brand in the Caribbean, and increase our production to one million litres.”