Hood River appoints absinthe ambassador

US spirits importer, distiller and producer Hood River Distillers has recruited bartender Milo Rodriguez as absinthe portfolio brand master, effective from 2 February.

Hood River Distillers has appointed Milo Rodriguez as ambassador for its absinthe portfolio

Rodriguez boasts more than 14 years’ experience in the drinks industry and will work to “elevate awareness” of Hood River brands, focusing in particular on Lucid Absinthe Supérieure and the Jade range of ultra-premium absinthes.

“We are thrilled to welcome Milo to the HRD team,” said Keri Eliason, marketing brand manager at Hood River Distillers. “His knowledge of the back bar and experience in integrating brand marketing with sales will be critical to helping us drive growth for Lucid Absinthe Supérieure and our award-winning absinthe portfolio.

“We plan to make full use of Milo’s extensive and acclaimed mixology background to create new and innovative cocktails that will help our absinthe regain their historical place in cocktail creation.”

Rodriguez will also work with the sales team to extend the brands’ on- and off-trade presence, as well as educating wholesalers about the firm’s portfolio and dispersing common myths about the spirit.

“Cocktails have been at the core of my career and I’m so excited to be working with brands that are as historically important to mixology as the absinthe portfolio at Hood River,” commented Rodriguez.

“There is a lot of misinformation about the absinthe category and I’m eager to help set the record straight.

“Not only are authentic absinthes like Lucid and Jade part of our cocktail history, they are infinitely mixable and belong in contemporary cocktails.

“I can’t wait to start creating cocktails and the rest of the Hood River portfolio is a great place to start.”