The Virgin Islands are famous for their rum ever since sailors began arriving here. You couldn’t sail a ship without rum.
Cruzan Rum is a rum producer located in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands founded in 1760 and claims the distinction of “the most honored rum distillery in the world.” For eight generations and through various changes in corporate ownership, the distillery has been managed by the Nelthropp family. (Wikipedia) It may be the largest rum distillery in the Virgin Islands, but there are several smaller, craft distilleries offering interesting rums as well.
You have AH Riise Rum, Calico Jack Flavored Rums, Sailor Jerry, and Botany Bay Rum from the U.S. Virgin Islands, among others. And then there are impressive rums from the British Virgin Islands definitely worth tasting. “Dating back four hundred years, the Arundel Estate is the oldest, continuously operated distillery in the Eastern Caribbean. For the last two hundred years, the Callwood family has handed down the rum-making tradition in Cane Garden Bay from father to son.” (Ministry of Rum) You won’t go wrong getting a bottle of this.
From time to time, I will post comments about the various rums I immerse myself in. That doesn’t mean getting drunk on the rum. Rather, it is getting drunk on the sheer beauty and feeling you get when sipping Caribbean rum watching the sun slip beneath the horizon, which you can do in many Virgin establishments. When you come here for vacation, it can be a sublime experience. Sipping just an ounce or two of rum while contemplating nothing and staring out at the waves can be a transformative experience. It has been for me.
Rumratings.com has more than 5,000 rums in its database. That gives you an idea of the complex and wide-ranging world of rum. I tend to take comments about rum, wine or anything I consume with a grain of salt. I don’t have a sophisticated palate.
For instance, I purchased a $30 bottle of Botany Bay Estate Reserve Rum in St. Thomas recently. It’s relatively expensive for me, and it gets approvals at rumratings.com. But, for my palate, it is too sweet. It is smooth and has little burn, but I find the sweetness just overpowers all of the complexity achieved by blending different rums together. On the other hand, the next day I purchased a bottle of Soggy Dollar Dark Rum made in the British Virgin Islands.
Soggy Dollar is a bar in White Bay on the island of Jost Van Dyke with maybe 200 residents. A true Caribbean island and bar on the beach. You can get there only by boat. There is no dock, so to get to the Soggy Dollar bar, you have to jump off the boat with dollars in your pocket, which will get soggy as you make your way to the bar.
Soggy Dollar Bar is the home of the original Painkiller. The first sentence at their website reads “To live the Soggy life is a state of mind.” That kind of says it all.
There are also two companies blending and bottling sugar cane spirits from the British Virgin Islands:
Pusser’s West Indies Ltd.
Tortola Spiced Rum Co
Fine rum should be sipped while watching a Caribbean sunset. But there are many other ways to enjoy rum. Here’s one to try.
Rum Punch
- 2 Oz rum
- 1/4 Oz Grenadine
- Equal parts pineapple and orange juice
- Dash of Bitters (optional)
Blend well with ice. Garnish with a lime slice, and sprinkle with nutmeg.
Of course, everyone has their own special recipe for rum punch. We will attempt to taste as many as possible and let you know what we think 😉
