And then came the Schweppes mixology competition. Going into it, Kesego was only hoping to learn. It did not even cross her mind that she could emerge a winner once all was said and done. Her only goal when signing up was to enrich her craft and gain as much as possible from her fellow contestants, who all had significantly more experience than she did. As one would typically expect, the alcohol industry is dominated by men, and the contestant roster was a pure reflection of this reality. Being the only woman on the lineup was as intimidating to Kesego as it was exciting because as the competition progressed with each level, it became pretty evident that despite the odds being stacked against her, the title was just as much hers to win as her men counterparts. And at the end of a thrilling and exciting challenge, she emerged victorious in the Schweppes Mixology Competition. Her winning cocktail, the Robust Splurge, made of pineapple sorbet, whiskey gin and vodka with a tickleberry shot, is precisely how she would describe herself; “full of flavour, colour, radiance and robust taste.”

The mixology contest was a tremendous growth catalyst for Kesego, the mixologist and Exuberant Sips, the business. Kesego’s most notable career highlights thus far have been handling the drinks and offering bar services for other major corporations in Botswana, and she is only getting started. For the foreseeable future, Kesego would like to focus more on driving her digital presence and creating more mixology-centred content for her community of almost 70000 followers across various social media platforms.