Strawberry Hill in Irish Town Jamaica is an incredibly cool place for someone wanting a rustic, off the beaten path Caribbean escape.  Located in the Blue Mountains fifteen mile above Kingston, my wife and I enjoyed 3 days of relaxing and exploring.  

The culmination of each day was the cocktail hour at the bar.  The ambiance was ideal for any baby boomer who could appreciate the music of his youth as the walls were covered with incredible pictures from the 70's of both reggae and rock stars recording music for Island Records.  Island records founder and Jamaican Icon, Chris Blackwell is the resorts owner and had used this retreat in the 70's to record music. Check out these pictures of Bob Marley, Mick Jagger and Sting:

We quickly became friends with our bartender, Troy.  His friendly personality, inviting smile and his generous pouring of aged Appleton rum made the cocktail hour a highlight of the trip.


Here's a picture of Troy and my wife Amy.  (The Menswear Specialty stores that we do email marketing for need to take note of his shirt)

This was the first time since I've owned a laptop (8 years) that I've traveled without one.  I opted for a book Piller's of The Earth by Ken Follet.  Needless to say, I was able to take a week off from the various email marketing campaigns that I  work on for the brick and mortar retailers and web merchants.  But that doesn't mean my marketing mind wasn't at work  for Jamaican bartenders.  When Troy gave us a taste of a drink he had invented the recipe for, I became his "self appointed" marketing guru.  He was submitting the recipe for a contest. The drink was delicious (it was a blend of Tia Maria, Creme de Cocoa, sweetened condensed milk, ground peanuts, pineapple and a few secrets) but it needed a name.  I christened it "Troy's Trouble in a Pitcher" and I will try and follow up and see how it did.  Hopefully we can launch his internet marketing campaign.