When the Searchers sand Love Potion #9, they never met Lakeisha Rolle, the famed bartender from Sandals Emerald Bay who wooed and wowed hundreds of guests since she won the award for the most original welcome drink in the popular resort’s history.
The native Bahamian, born in Exuma, home to the 480-acre sprawling resort, kicked the competition with her Peach & Love cocktail, created by her, served to guests and taking the top spot in the bartenders’ contest for the best mood-shifter on the property.
Rolle won the title of Loop Queen, a fun attribute to the way you feel when you land after traveling to transforming you into the guest about to enjoy days of sun, sea and sand and nights of romance and relaxation.
As the ambassador who greets every VIP guest, she’s served well over 500 of her special drinks, Love Potion with peach schnapps, white rum, coconut run, pineapple and cranberry juice.
“It packs a powerful punch,” she says, “but the best part is that I am the first person to greet every guest and make them feel welcome to Sandals Emerald Bay. When you go to any Sandals resort, it’s all about love. Shared love by two people whether it’s an anniversary, honeymoon, birthday or just another reason for a vacation, this represents a smooth sweet sensation of the tropical paradise, a sip of what lies ahead in out crystal clear beaches and stunning waters.”
In the business world of hospitality, crowded by resorts and short-term rentals, Rolle is winning loyal repeat guests with her warm message and her chilled run-infused welcome drink.
It all started with a competition poolside. Rolle, who usually works by what is called the quiet pool, had been watching what bartenders did in the area around the more active swimming area. When the contest was announced, she brought determination and the concoction she developed, secretly pulling on the right ingredients in the right proportions for her love potion that would become the winning welcome drink.
Like many at the resort, she started at entry level. But she saw an opportunity.
“I had been working at clothing stores and I took a chance, got hired to work the pool area in 2010.I saw the bartenders making drinks. I watched, I learned,” she said, admitting that at first when she mixed a drink she missed, toughest of all with martinis, still the hardest to perfect, she admits. The first attempts, and there were many, she would shake and despite her best efforts, she’d spill a bit. She practiced like a pianist preparing for a rehearsal until she got it right.
“Now I can do it one-handed,” she says proudly.
While she was perfecting her trade, she also married, now has two children, both of whom brag about mom.
“They say my mom is the best bartender at Sandals,” says the woman they call the Loop Queen, referring to closing the gap between travel and relaxation.
She recalls the day of the competition itself when she introduced the cocktail that would win her that title and the right to welcome guests with the signature drink, she wants to thank all those who knew her from the quiet pool and came over to support all the eight others competing, including others who had been there longer than she.
“The best drink” she says, “starts with the best ice. Then you have to be creative and you have to follow all the Sandals environmental standards – no plastic, all glass, paper straws and environmental protection friendliness.”
As best bartender, the woman who chanced leaving selling clothes for a career that started as pool attendant, says it wasn’t’ just the trip she won or the bragging rights she earned, but knowing that dreams can come true and can make a local girl into a woman whose family boasts about her every chance they get.
