During his days as a young professional in the finance industry, whiskey was his thing.
Because of his people-driven personality, he got poached to be an alcohol brand ambassador.
“My mentor was building a team at the time. He invested in me. He trained me. Then you understand what liquor is, how being an ambassador, what being an ambassador is. He showed me the career opportunity of this,” Séan Tantsi tells Drum.
Now as he demonstrates and teaches people how to mix their spirits at The Don’s Table, he talks of the history of Don Julio like the back of his hand.
Speaking about the levels to it, he says he is not a mixologist nor is he a barman but rather brand ambassador which is at a higher rank.
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“I’m a brand ambassador. The difference is that a brand ambassador knows the skill and the art of mixology. We just don't practice it as a profession. We have all the training, we understand and know mixology, we just don't do it as a profession.”
If anything, the 25-year-old uplifts mixologists to promote the profession.
“It doesn't start where I've started. It actually starts from being a bar assistant, at the back of the bar. Then you become the next brand manager, head of marketing and so forth.”
He adds that it is quite a lengthy progression plan from just making and mixing drinks to corporate success.
“I spend every single day looking for the next me. We want to find different people to develop and grow this industry [because] it’s a small industry.”
The ambassador from Atteridgeville, Pretoria started his journey three years ago and has already worked with two big alcoholic brands.
He was not only mentored in, but he also studied through Wine and Spirits Education and Training.
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“That's kind of how you learn the art of spirits, what spirits are, how they're made, the technicalities behind it, the flavor profiles, what works with what. And then what you do from that point onwards, obviously being a brand ambassador is learning the story about the brand, making it your own, and taking it to the country,” he shares.
How he personally got into spirits though is via whiskey. From understanding barrels and how they work, he learned how to make his own whiskey-based drinks. The old fashion whiskey, for him though, hits the spot.
With everyone on social media taking initiative in making their own alcoholic concoctions, he says there isn’t much danger to that because every day, people discover new tastes to their kind of poisons.
However, “The danger is obviously, making a bad drink. There are no rules behind making a cocktail. You need a spirit and two other ingredients, a spirit and another ingredient. So, many cocktails that you can make at home that would most likely be a good drink.”
