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Lately, I’ve been fascinated with the thought of moonshine rum in the Caribbean. And while I hear St. Kitts and Nevis are great places to get home-distilled alcohol, also known as “Hammond”, I have yet to sample any outlaw concoctions. So, while in Montserrat island, I thought I’d try to dig some up for myself. What I (somewhat regrettably) found instead, was bush rum. Bush Rum Montserrat What is bush rum? Californian brewer Alesmith is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the release of Diego Antonio, a 7.7% ABV West Coast-style IPA and a collaborative brew with Weathered Souls Brewing. Named after the patron saint of each brewery’s hometowns of San Diego and San Antonio, the beer is brewed using citra, nelson and sauvin hops to create the tropical flavours synonymous with these beers.. The beer is available throughout Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, southern California, Texas, Australia, Mexico and South Korea. The task was equally tempting and daunting. A seductively lit wall of three dozen different flavors of “bush rum” with color and variety to surpass Baskin-Robins: tropical fruits like pineapple, orange and passionfruit; mysterious local herbs and spices like chook chook and pueve; and truly bizarre-looking concoctions like avocado and “tobac zombie.” Over the course of three nights at the RumFire Hotel Bar at the brand new Cabrits Resort & Spa Kempinski on the island of Dominica I thought, could I try them all?
RumFire offers some truly strange flavors to mixed results. The avocado was one of my least favorite. But I was surprised to really love flavors like chili pepper, garlic and the scariest-looking concoction—”Tobac Zombie”—a pitch-dark liquid that looked like it’d been soiled with cigar ash but had a slight buttery sweetness to balance any smoke. The beet was just kind of peculiar. Cane sugar just tasted like the base rum was turned up to 11. The ginger was as potent as many of the ginger-based candies found in the islands. The garlic tasted like you’d want a little piece of bread to dip in it. And the coffee was wonderfully potent enough to hint at Kandag’s Turkish heritage. Finally, in addition to the offerings at RumFire, I couldn’t leave the island without trying the infamous under-the-table rum, which, of course, smelled and tasted a lot like ganja.
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First, you have the bush. Throughout the Caribbean, many specific leaves, barks and roots have been used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes. A little arrowroot for this, a little “love vine” for that. Then, of course, you’ve got the rum. In this case, it’s the very rum my brother Steve mentioned just a few weeks ago: Wray & Nephew’s overproof rum. (126-proof or 63% alcohol by volume!) With ginger ale - my favourite. The combo of mango and ginger just seemed to work really well. Great served over lots of ice, just sit and relax in the garden with a large mango rum + ginger ale. Yum!
The result is a gorgeous display of 36 different infusions of a 96-proof barrel-aged Macoucherie rum, each aged for a couple of weeks (herbs don’t take as long as the fruits). The variety and novelty makes for a tremendously fun drinking experience. And over the course of three nights last week, with much encouragement from both friends and staff, I became the first guest to taste them all. I’m pretty sure under Caribbean Pirate Law, that means I now own the bar. Regardless, here’s what I learned. Symposium Spirits’ founders said in a statement, “while we live in an era where there are lots of choices – it felt like there was little to differentiate between portfolios and products with a singular approach. Rather than complain we decided to do something about it – we took inspiration from the merchants of the past and developed a portfolio and an offer that is relevant for today."Absolutely! It’s one of the many, many uncommon things to be found on the utterly uncommon island of Montserrat. That bar was Mizer’s Bar in Salem. It’s a small spot, just one room. When we arrived, two young Montserratians were circling a small pool table shooting a game in silence. Set against one wall a tiny TV on a shelf was blaring professional wrestling. Installed behind a small bar on the far side stood a large, imposing figure we’d soon learn was Mr. Mizer, himself.
Put those two together. Mix in some family pride in having a better recipe than your neighbor. Throw in a dash of the mysterious for no one wanting to reveal their unique methods. Let that sit for entirely too long and you’ve got a recipe for an adventurous night on the town in Montserrat. Sometimes, knowing the dangers is no reason not to try something. London-based distiller 58 Gin has launched a gin-based hard seltzer made using its original 58 London Dry Gin. Available in raspberry and pink grapefruit varieties, the canned drinks are made without any added sugar, and with natural ingredients, and both are vegan. Each 250ml can contains less than 67 calories and has an ABV of 4%. They are made by mixing natural fruit flavours with the gin and sparkling water, which is run through a reverse-osmosis machine to filter the drinks. The cans are fully recyclable, and perfect for those wishing to socialise outdoors. They join the distiller’s four other gins and one vodka. The BushRumCo takes the flavours of the Caribbean and brings them to life by blending Guyaneserumwith tropical fruits and spices to create a range of spicedrumwith flavours that are bright, refreshing and subtly sweet.Mizer set a small plastic cup in front of me. Dave enthusiastically waved the cup offered to him away adding that he was running in the marathon the following morning. Mizer was shy South London brewery Brew by Numbers has teamed up with west London whisky distiller Bimber Distillery to make a collaborative beer. The Imperial stout was made with golden promise, oat, cara, chocolate-roast and smoked malt, along with muscovado sugar. The 10% ABV beer then rested in tanks for two months with oak chips that had been soaked in Bimber’s ex-Bourbon cask single malt whisky, were added after fermentation. As well as the chips, the team also added cacao nibs, Madagascan vanilla pods and washed Colombian coffee from a London roastery. Australian wine brand Tempus Two has added a sparkling wine to its Copper series in the UK. The Copper Prestige Cuvée follows the successful launch of the producer’s Wilde Chardonnay into Sainsbury’s this year. The wine, which is made using grapes from south-eastern Australia, is fermented for two weeks in tanks before being blended and bottled. According to the producer, the sparkler has flavours of “crisp apple, green pear, pineapple and guava” and is said to pair well with seafood, oysters and soft cheese.
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