The name Armada brings memories of ships from the Golden Ageof discovery.
But Oscar de Sequeira Nazareth has given a total new meaningto the word by commercially producing liqueur, called Licor Armada in Goa.Oscar believes Licor Armada embodies the heritage and spirit of Goa.
Licor Armada was modernized for cocktail generation with allnatural ingredients matured in small batches, in the traditional way.
Oscar’s background is vivid and interesting. Born in Margao,he grew up at Coimbrain in Portugal and graduated from Cass Business Schoolwith a degree in Investment & Financial Risk Management. Later he joinedthe graduate programme of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), the world’slargest insurance broker and a Fortune 500 company.
Responsible for a500-strong division’s internal Marketing & Communications team Oscarconducted key research for the company’s participation in the World EconomicForum at Davos, and led the design and implementation of the company’s globalIntellectual Capital repository.
Leaving the company as an Associate, Oscar then joinedDeutsche Bank London where he worked in Equity Derivatives Trading.
What made him leave his high paying career in London andreturn to settle in a lazy village like Loutolim?
“I felt it was theright time to return and settle in my motherland. Goans abroad must return andgive something back to the community, so I decided to zero down on thecommercial production of liqueur Armada,” Oscar reasoned out.
Unlike most Indian-made spirits, Armada is made with naturalfruits and spices and contains absolutely no artificial colours, flavours orpreservatives. Oscar sounds confident and convincing when he boasts, “It’snature friendly. You can taste the difference.”
It’s both, a challenge and an opportunity for Oscar “ achallenge, because the consumer will have to be educated about a new spirit.Although it can be enjoyed neat and on the rocks, he is experimenting on it todevelop a new range of cocktails that complements the complex, sophisticatedtaste of Armada.
But at the same time it is also an opportunity, because asan original product with a distinctive flavour, there is a place for Armada atevery bar “ so there is substantial export potential.
“I do not want to jump into quantity production at themoment. I want to concentrate only on quality,” says the young entrepreneur whoseems to be patient enough to wait and watch the market feedback.
