I wouldn’t say: ‘What is life without a passion?’ I would, on the other hand, insist on asking: ‘Is there a life without a passion?’

You then just might curl your lips to reveal a villainous smile and drawl, ‘Is passion always Jamaican?’

Jamaican Passion. Ah! This is a coming together of words that brings with them all the corporate benefits of a merger, all the technological advantages of a convergence, all the political hand-shakes of an alliance, all the literary pulses of a confluence, and all the psychological sways of a relationship! Jamaican Passion isn’t just another taste or flavour or a tongue flirter nor an ephemeral fashion or a fleeting fad either… it is a way of life! Obviously, when I say this I mean Bacardi Breezer of this flavour!

Breezers come in a range of flavours… and their fruity leaning makes them to be aptly called alcopop! So whether I am in Seoul or Sydney, London or Singapore, Dubai or Tashkent, I tend to search for flavours of breezers and I’ve had almost all including the malibu, lemon, peach, pineapple, apple, ruby grapefruit, lime, orange, blackberry, watermelon, cranberry, coconut, raspberry, blueberry, pomegranate, strawberry, mango, chocolate and piña colada…

‘Watermelon?’ chuckled Specky when she heard me take this name.

I said, ‘Well, yes, and I can tell you that it isn’t as simple as it sounds. The flavour is subtle and goes well even during breakfast time! But my all-time favourite is, of course, the veteran called Jamaican Passion.’

‘And why would that be?’

This is when I told her about the necessity of a well-rounded and evolved flavour. This is when I told her how a mere flavour can make your feet tap a Jamaican step on the floor and the rest of the body get that heady feeling of watching some Jamaican cricketer handle his bat rather passionately! Which other flavour gives you the granadilla-invasion on your taste-buds… something that is so pleasantly sweet meandering through a tartness that is so heart-warming?

‘And by the way,’ I added for good measure, ‘passion fruit is rich source of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and fiber. 100 grams of this fruit contains about 97 calories.’

‘Aren’t we talking of just the flavour of a Bacardi Breezer here?’ Specky asked rather cockily, almost like a live version of a Jamaican Passion.

‘Yes, but I thought it would be a nice idea to tell you that the fruit does a lot of good to us,’ I said defensively, and then added, ‘Passion fruit is good in vitamin C and consumption of fruits rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against flu-like infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.’

‘Phew!’ said my wife, ‘you are really unstoppable when you’re talking about your favourite flavour, aren’t you?’

‘I am,’ I said, with a satisfied smirk on my face. This is where I waved to her to give me a few minutes after which I read out to her my ‘flash fiction’ of just 50 words on my favourite flavour.

The pacer did a hop, step, and jump before letting the ball go whizzing passionately towards the wicket. The batsman tapped it gently but with a lot of restrained passion, and said, ‘Let’s go. I’m thirsty now.’

Then the two ambled off to sip their chilled Jamaican Passion Bacardi breezer.

‘So what does this tell me about the flavour?’ asked Specky.

‘Everything,’ I said, ‘there is action, focus and friendship going on with the notions of play hard and party hard! This is precisely what this flavour is all about.’

‘Nice interpretation,’ said Specky and smiled, ‘Now let me focus on my Island Pineapple post, will you?’

‘Well, you’d better opt for this flavour after you finish your post. We want the Bacardi party in Delhi.’

Interpreting 'jamaican passion'

Interpreting ‘jamaican passion’

 

It’s all about catching the right flavour… and I’m sure I’ve done it right by holding on to Jamaican Passion!
This post is all about the way my mind interprets this flavour and is written for a contest on indiblogger that is sponsored by Bacardi.

 

Arvind Passey
29 November 2013