Ronan Noonan has one of the best jobs in Colorado; he is the Smithwick”s Beer Ambassador. Diageo-Guinness Manager Tom McGuire who is involved with the Ambassador”s visit commented, “This is a grass-roots marketing approach to generate brand awareness for Smithwick”s”.Smithwick”s could not have picked a more enthusiastic Ambassador than the 26-year-old from Cork, Ireland. “I love doing what I”m doing, it”s just the best job I”ve had in my life,” said Ronan, “I”m one of the happiest people in the world to be here at the moment ” I can”t emphasize how much I like Denver and the States.” In a perpetual but sincere state of gratefulness, Ronan continued. “I love the people that I work with and am delighted that I got this opportunity ” The people I”m with in Denver are absolutely top notch ” some of the nicest guys I”ve ever met,” he said, referring to McGuire and Kevin Fitzgerald of Diageo-Guinness. “I would like to thank everybody who has made my life easier to adapt in Denver ” my friends Thomas and Kevin and Christiana at U.S. Consulate marketing,” Any one else that you would like to thank? “My parents for giving me the personality to go off and do this ” I”m just happy to be here and have met so many friends and I hope it continues.” With that kind of attitude one would expect so.Ronan almost missed out on his dream job. His two big passions are soccer (he was an award-winning player in college), and travel. His travels had already taken him to Europe and the U.S., when about a year ago he began to plan an extended tour of South America. Ronan had been going to business school for accounting and was having second thoughts about the career choice; he thought that a long stint in South America could bring some clarity. “Then a friend rang me up and said, “Look, I was just on line and saw a job that I think would suit you down to da ground””. His friend explained the job over the phone which seemed too good to be true. Ronan, “being a Cork man, being a bit wily” he decided to do his own research. “I checked it out and thought “this looks like a dream job”, so I decided to throw my hat in the ring ” so 3 or 4 interviews later…” He left it to fill in the blank, which would be ” he got the job as Ambassador of Smithwick”s, and envy of many young men from Dublin to Denver.Arriving in Denver in early January, Ronan brought with him a casual sense of humor to his Ambassador title. He recalled a woman from Kerry that he met in Colorado who asked him if he was an actual Ambassador. He set the record straight with a smile. “This Ambassador title looks good on paper, but I go into a pub like you or anybody goes into a pub for a pint ” at the end of the day I”m just a regular Joe who enjoys a pint of Smithwick”s and wants other people to enjoy a pint of Smithwick”s with him.”Smithwick”s has been providing pints in Ireland for longer than the United States has been a country. When asked how the Americans have taken to the beer Ronan said it was all thumbs-up. “It”s very easy to get people to try a beer that has stood a 300-year test of time in Ireland. There is a reason that it”s Ireland”s top Ale ” It”s smooth tasting, and it doesn”t give you an aftertaste in your mouth.” He added with a laugh, “”As St. Patrick’s Day approaches I’m reminded of an old Irish saying from back in 1710: “A pint of Smithwick’s, please.”According to Ronan “Once people get to know about Smithwick”s it”s going to get big in Denver!” He gave a couple of suggestions on how to maximize the Smithwick”s experience. First, like Guinness take some care in the pour, secondly use a 20-ounce glass which is the way it is done in Ireland “You shouldn”t be drinking Smithwick”s or Guinness, which are two Irish products from a 16-ounce glass, when at home in Ireland we drink them out of a 20 ” drink it like pure Irish in a 20-ounce glass.” And how about the pronunciation? “Be sure to order a pint of our ale, like we do in Ireland. For example, “I”ll have a pint of SMITH-ICKs please.” Or “How about a round of SMITH-ICKs.” Or even, “SMITH-ICKs for everyone in the pub ON ME!”The Smithwick”s Beer Ambassador project will run through the end of March, with Ronan spreading the word of his favorite Ale. You catch up on Ronan”s activities on his blog at [email protected]