What Makes a Great Brand Ambassador? Keli Rivers of Sipsmith

Keli Rivers, senior brand ambassador for craft gin distiller Sipsmith literally wrote the book on the Negroni. A committed gin fan, she was also one of the first bartenders at San Francisco’s own gin palace, Whitechapel.

How long have you been a brand ambassador and where are you based?

I’ve been a Sipsmith ambassador for the last 4 amazing years based in New York.

What attracted you to the industry?

Once my racing career ended, I turned to my second love to the kitchen. I’ve worked in restaurants, bars and hotels for the last 29 years and don’t think I would be happy not being involved in the hospitality field. We, the lifers, are drawn to this industry like Pinocchio was to Pleasure Island - with the promise of sleeping late, not sitting behind a desk and the best people by your side; and like Pinocchio, when you’re in the middle of it all time just flies by. You find yourself with a bad back and no idea how to hold a conversation that doesn’t include the newest distillery you just heard about. But as they say, it isn’t the destination but the journey.

How and when did you get started as a brand ambassador?

I have been very fortunate in my career to work in San Francisco during the trifecta of culinary greatness: the California farm to table movement, the craft spirits legislative change and to keep the wheels greased the first Dot Com boom keeping the lights on.

While working as a sous chef I was able to grab a post-shift drink at some of the pioneer craft cocktail bars, witnessing firsthand the kitchen fresh mantra falling in love with alcohol never looking back. It got me thinking- man, I could do that! While the industry was still the who’s-who of brown spirit swirling mustaches I wanted to do something a little more me. I took my love of history, storytelling and gin and talked to anyone who would listen. Soon enough I was the go-to person for the botanically beautiful in the United States.

For 14 years I worked in some of the top destination spots in the Bay Area spreading the gospel of a well-made Negroni, invited to speak on gin history in every continent except Antarctica. It was then when Sipsmith tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to come work for them. How could I turn down the quintessential London Dry Gin that literally helped change the law in London to allow craft distilling? The answer was, I couldn’t.

What are the qualifications for being a great brand ambassador?

Passion. Patience. Time Management. Everything else you can learn.

What does your job entail?

As a Senior Sipsmith Brand Ambassador I have a few extra day to day responsibilities. While the first half of my day involves answering emails, attending brand calls, and connecting with our distillery in London. The real fun starts after I leave the house to check on accounts, making sure they have everything they need, sampling their latest R&D Sipsmith cocktails, and making plans for upcoming educations and activations. We have recently added a few new Swans (Sipsmith Ambassadors) to our team and I have the pleasure of mentoring them in their roles and watching them become great advocates for Sipsmith and the gin category.

What are the biggest misconceptions people have about brand ambassadors?

All we do is go out drinking and spending money. Brand ambassadors do so much more. We are the living embodiment of our brand - regardless of if we are “working” or not. There is never a off day, there is never a moment where we aren’t our brand.

What do you like best about being a brand ambassador?

There are so many things I like about being a brand ambassador. If I had to pick one, it would be when a guest tastes Sipsmith for the first time gets it. I am able to see the exact moment where the lightbulb goes on and that is the greatest feeling. Winning the hearts and minds one Sipsmith drink at a time. (okay sometimes it might be the second one- but that works too!)

What trends to do you see right now in the cocktail/spirits world?

Normally I would be able to pick one or two, but these last two years have been a doozy and so many places are just holding on for the ride. Is that a trend? Buyers are slimming down on what they carry, they are picking spirits and brands that speak to them and their guests. It’s not enough to make a good spirit and have a pretty label, what you as a brand/company do outside of the distillery matters. This is one of the reasons Sipsmith started our journey to become B Corp certified 3 years ago - and while shutdown wasn’t great for our industry it did let us speed up some of our larger projects and were awarded B Corp May 2021. But that’s only a start…

Are you responsible for sales, education or PR? Or some combination?

My roles and responsibilities are education based. I speak to our brand origin story, the long history of gin, gin cocktail history and everything in between. While I don’t handle any sales, I do support the sales teams when they need someone to share the Sipsmith story or work on gin cocktails.

Why did you choose this brand to represent?

As someone who loves cocktails, gin and championing the underdog I was unsure at first that I would be able to work for a single gin brand. It was during the interview process that I realized we’ve been crossing paths since Sipsmith got the first distilling license in London in almost 200 years in 2009. I love London, the weather, the food, the deprecating humor, all of it. It was in 2010 when I was introduced to Sipsmith in our original distillery (just a 20 minute walk from our current location in Chiswick) while taking a picture of the blue door for a cheap Christmas present for my beer loving father. I did not know there was a distillery behind that door and was invited in. I’ve always been welcomed and made to feel part of the family prior to joining the team and it all felt serendipitous, like fate (if I believed in all of that).

What’s something surprising about the brand that most people don’t know?

Our founders, Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall, fell in love with the idea of craft, small batched, handmade spirits while living in the US. They toyed with the idea of bringing that kind of distilling back to their home, London with their favorite tipple, gin. Distilling and brewing at that time (early 2000’s) in England were very industrial - when we were awarded our distilling license in 2009 there were only 14 working stills in all of England! That’s crazy! Ten years later there were over 400 - to say we helped usher in the newest craft distilling craze in England is such a point of pride for us.

What’s one of your favorite cocktail recipes?

Just one? That’s not fair, I mean 2/3rds of all classic cocktails are gin-based for a reason. No other spirit marries, carries, and elevates a cocktail quiet like gin. But I am a Negroni lover through and through – so here is a variation that keeps all ingredients #equalpartsordie

Sloe-Groni

1 part Sipsmith London Dry Gin

1 part Sipsmith Sloe Gin

1 part Italian Bitter (I like Campari)

1 part sweet Vermouth (I like Cocchi Vermouth di Torino)

Stir together over ice- and just when you think you’re done give it another few twirls.

Pour over a fresh cube(s) of ice Garnish with a lemon twist (or an orange if you prefer). This will sound controversial, but I like, every now and then, a chaser of very bubbly cola. I find that it enhances the herbal and citrus qualities of the gin and makes the entire drink less sweet. I swear - don’t believe me - try it for yourself. I mean what is cola except an aromatic soda, and what was the first gin “cocktail”? Pink Gin - gin and aromatic bitters aka Angostura.