The Rum

Our Island Safari tour guide told us that if something seemed backwards here on the island, you can blame it on the rum. I guess anything is a good idea when your drinking rum- like agreeing to paint your house pink =)

Sugarcane farming/rum distillery is probably the second biggest industry here next to tourism. And they don't play. The rum here is serious. The very first day here we went to a popular Friday night hangout- Oistins Fish Fry. They have open air craft stalls, food stalls, music stage, and people- lots of people. I got knocked on my ass by the rum punch. And it wasn't even a properly made rum punch, but just the stuff from a mix. I skipped my usual drunk phases and went straight to the head-on-the-table phase. I was sweating like a crazed maniac and all of the sudden I decided I should go to the bathroom to break the seal. On the way to the bathroom a strange thing happened. My vision suddenly turned negative. Like, remember those old photo negatives you got with your one-hour prints? Yeah, like that. Black was green and white was red. It was the weirdest thing, but not to worry, after a trip to the bathroom I was totally back to normal.


Those rum punches are clever. They don't taste strong but they are. Cocktails made here in the states would probably taste and smell like liquor and burn the whole way down your throat. Not the case here. I don't know if it's the warm weather or some kind of island magic, but it seriously could be all rum and just a splash of juice and still taste like Hawaiian punch from start to finish. One drink is worth two here in the states, so take caution or else you'll be seeing in negative and painting your houses pink too!

RUM PUNCH
amber rum
lime juice
simple syrup
orange juice
Angostura bitters
grated nutmeg

Mix and serve on ice.