Meet Caitlin Hill

Could you please introduce yourself—your name, profession, and how long you've been working in this position?

I'm Caitlin Hill, Advocacy Manager for Rémy Cointreau—Africa, Middle East, India, and CIS. It's a new zone, or a new cluster, that's been merged. I started in this role at the beginning of September, and prior to that, I was a Brand Ambassador for Rémy Cointreau. I've been with the company for almost eight years.

A lot going on indeed. And when talking about areas, what areas do you handle professionally in your workplace? Like, are you in marketing? Education?

It's a mixed bag, to be honest. I think, you know, as someone who spent a lot of time in on-trade, you do marketing, education, sales, many things. On paper, it shows more marketing, but in our company, we wear many hats. Especially when engaging with on-trade people, there are a lot of requirements. You have a lot of team members you need to work with. 

Can you tell us your daily routine in a few words? What does a workday look like for you?

No two days are the same. I travel a lot because it's a big cluster. Some days I work on education, some days it's designing drinks, some days it's planning events. Recently, I was in Athens for the Athens Bar Show. Before that, I was attending the 50 Best Bars in Madrid. Every day is mostly experiences. I'm hosting clients as well, people we work with in the on-trade; maybe they're participating in some of our activities around those events. So, there's preparation in terms of menus, communication with people about prepping drinks, all these different things. Literally, no two days are the same. I do stuff with the Global On-Trade Council, I work with the Maisons…it's wild. When I was young, during my English exam the question happened to be about what you don't want to be when you grow up. I answered that I never want to be in a cubicle in an office, confined by four walls and one space. I want to be traveling and engaging with multiple cultures and people. Literally, I manifested it.

How did you get into this line of work, and what advice would you give someone who is interested in a similar career?

My advice, first and foremost, is never put a cap on what you may want to do, or could end up doing. I started in this industry as a waitress at a cocktail bar. At that time, I had no idea how much I was going to fall in love with spirits and cocktails and people. A lot of the things I’ve done in my life have kind of prepared me for it. I studied photography, I studied fashion design. All of those experiences really culminate perfectly in what I ended up doing as a profession. I went from waitress to doing events and marketing and social media for the bar I was working at. Then I ran a bar. The then-Brand Ambassador for South Africa invited me to participate in a bartending competition called The Forager, which we used to do with The Botanist Gin. I didn't win, but I did get a prize—a trip to the distillery on Islay. It was the best experience! I came back and I was like, "Okay, I need to work for these people. I got an interview with the then-Zone Director for Rémy Cointreau for AMEI , and she took a chance on me. That’s how I landed up working for Rémy Cointreau. The stars aligned.

So, can you tell us one memorable experience you've had while working with Cointreau?

There are loads! I'll start with the most recent one. This year, in July, I went to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was nominated for Best International Brand Ambassador and was also invited by the US team to do a guest shift at a pool party. I got to work with the National Brand Ambassador, Lauren Trickett, serving up some really cool margaritas. It was such a cool event! On top of that, this massive thunderstorm broke out towards the end, and we all had to rush away from the pool area. It was wild, but so New Orleans. Another one was earlier this year—the Margarita Challenge that we did for the UAE. It was especially special because we took it to the next level, and it's nice to see the progression of how it's received in the on-trade and the success that we've had. It was also special because Alfred Cointreau was one of the judges. He came to Dubai, and we did some amazing masterclasses. I got to host him at some cool spots—he hadn't been out here in a long time. It was nice for him, and I hadn’t seen him in a long time. We also invited two team members from Alquímico in Colombia to do a guest shift and be part of the judging panel. One was Miguel, who actually won the very first Margarita Challenge globally. It was cool to see all those things and people come together.

That's a good word to describe it! Speaking of exciting, what are you most excited to see coming in the beverage/bartending industry?

On a general scale, I'm excited to see Africa and India rise on a global scale. I’ve traveled throughout both, and I think there’s a lot of cool raw talent that hasn't necessarily been given global scope. I’m also excited about the Single Estate or Single Fruit distillates like the Cointreau Citrus Series Corsican Pomelo!

What are the current on-trade trends you're seeing recently?

There's always one constant with Cointreau, and that's the Margarita. But what’s changing are the variations—specific to an origin, or the bar—and there are cool stories linked to the drinks. I think the Margarita Challenge has a lot to contribute to that. There are other obvious trends, too. More mezcal being used than tequila (I'm a smoky girl, so I like that!). Another obvious one is the desire for low-ABV versions of margaritas and other Cointreau cocktails. I don't know how long that trend will last, but it's interesting to see. It’s in line with our "drink less, but better" philosophy. You’re also seeing more brands work directly with bartenders, like we're doing with the Cointreau Citrus Series. As someone who's been a bartender, that's really exciting. Bartenders don’t often get direct access to brands, especially a heritage brand like Cointreau.