March 2012 | Rum Therapy

March 28, 2012May 29, 2019

Sunset Bar and Grill, St. Maarten

Ahhh…Sunset Bar and Grill in St. Maarten. Where else can you enjoy a delicious rum punch on a beautiful beach while a 747 roars over your head?

Doesn’t sound that good to you? Well, when researching places to check out on our recent trip to St. Maarten, a good friend mentioned that we really ought to check this place out. We thought it would be a novelty and that we’d stop by just for a quick beverage, but we ended up having a blast!

The day we got there by mid-afternoon the bar was already hopping! There were plenty of people on the beach enjoying the warm sunshine and we noticed a surfboard acting as a sort of sign with a flight schedule written on it.

We ordered several Rum Punches and Mojitos along with a few appetizers.

Just as our first round was being served, we saw people clamoring towards the beach. Within seconds, a huge US Airways jet blasted right past us, over the fence and landed on the runway just feet from the bar. Wow – talk about close! I grabbed my camera and headed to the sand to see if I could capture the next landing.

In addition to great drinks and the jet entertainment, Sunset Bar and Grill frequently has live music and even crab races. And if you’re short on cash, women can drink free – if you’re willing to go topless.

After all the airplanes have landed for the day, Sunset offers a quiet waterfront dining under the stars. So really – Sunset Bar and Grill should be on your list of beach bars to check out next time you’re in St. Maarten. Just don’t stand in the middle of the beach when a 747 takes off….

To find out more about Sunset Bar and Grill in St. Maarten, check out their website here: http://sunsetsxm.com/

Find Sunset Bar & Grill on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map
Press the Sunset Bar & Grill bar underneath the map

Other Posts on St. Maarten/St. Martin that you might enjoy:

Sint Maarten Yacht Club Bar & Restaurant

Calmos Cafe, St. Martin

Sarafina’s Bakery, Marigot St. Martin

Le Galion Beach, St. Martin

Karakter Beach Bar, St. Maarten

Guy’s Driftwood Boat Bar, St. Maarten

Orient Bay Beach, St. Martin

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

March 24, 2012June 6, 2019

Finding the Rhum on St. Barths – Part 2

After an enjoyable time at R. St. Barths, we continued down Rue du General de Gaulle looking for a shop that I had read about in one of our travel books. This shop was supposed to have a wide variety of infused rums in handcrafted bottles. In reading about St. Barts, we learned that many restaurants serve an infused rum after a delicious meal – particularly vanilla. Wanting to know more about this tradition, we sought out a shop called M’Bolo – known for their infused rums or “rhum” as it is spelled here.

A short stroll down Rue du General de Gaulle, we saw the sign for M’Bolo. The shop was tiny and tucked in back of another shop but looked quite inviting. Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by one of the shop owners, Sandy.

We asked about M’Bolo’s infused rhums and Sandy generously allowed us to try many of them, explaining that her husband Christian infused the rhums mainly with ingredients grown in his garden on St. Barts. Each one was better than the next and by the end we wanted to take one of each home!

Sandy said vanilla is a favorite on St. Barts and it was delicious. After sampling many of them, I decided to to purchase the chocolate, but unfortunately she’d run out – must have been another popular one! We instead purchased a bottle of Srub which is a wonderful combination of ingredients including cinnamon. Excellent to sip as an after dinner drink and we hope to at some point drizzle a little over some vanilla Blue Bell ice cream.

The bottles are handmade and great to bring home as a gift or to add to your own collection. As we gathered our purchases to leave, we asked Sandy if she drank rhum every day. Her response was “No, I don’t drink rhum every day, unless I can!” Gotta love that.

M’Bolo is well worth a visit when in St. Barts. Taste their wonderful infused rhums and enjoy visiting with Sandy!

Find the location of M’Bolo on our St. Barths Map under Attractions

To see more posts on St. Barths and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

March 22, 2012June 6, 2019

Finding the Rhum on St. Barths – Part 1

Shopping in Gustavia, St. Barts is quite the adventure. Boutiques, high end shops, bars and restaurants line the streets around the beautiful harbor and the town is quaint and clean. You won’t find a lot of t-shirt and souvenir shops but you will find plenty of places to buy expensive watches, perfumes and other high end ticket items.

Although we brought our credit cards, we intended more to explore and experience Gustavia but found two shops that really caught our attention.

Several streets back from the harbor on Rue du General de Gaulle, we stumbled across R. St. Barths. It looked like a rum shop , but we had not heard of R. St. Barths before. Very intrigued, we walked in.

Walking into this shop was a visual pleasure. Rows of the R. St. Barth Blanc, R. St. Barth Ambré and R. St. Barth Hors d’Age lined one full wall.

Frederic was there to greet us and told us a little about R. St. Barth. We asked if we could first like to sample their infused rums that were on display. They were delicious – especially the vanilla…

We then moved to the chic tasting room with leather chairs and rum barrels and sampled the R. St. Barth Ambré.

The rhum is an authentic rhum agricole and the creation of French International footballer, Mikael Silvestre and his wife, Severine and they opened this store in March 2011.

From what we could find out, R. St. Barths is actually made and bottled in Guadeloupe, then shipped to St. Barths. Each beautiful bottle is finished with a hand-made wax seal.

We still don’t know a lot about this rum, but we certainly enjoyed the experience – be sure to stop in for a sample when you get to St. Barts!

Find the R. St. Barts Tasting Room on our St. Barths Map under Attractions

To see more posts on St. Barths and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

March 13, 2012June 24, 2021

St. Patrick’s Day Drinks

Not a big fan of green beer? Could you use a recipe for a green rum drink for St. Patrick’s Day this year? We’ve assembled three great tasting rum recipes sure to add a little touch O’ the green to your celebration. Click the link for recipes.

Tropical Leprechaun

St. Patrick’s Day Punch

Frosty O’Malley

Find more rum recipes here:

Rum Recipe Picture Directory

Rum Recipes by Category

March 12, 2012May 29, 2019

Karakter Beach Bar, St. Maarten

Ever been to a beach bar that’s a bus? A beach bar bus? As we were planning our recent trip to St. Maarten, a friend mentioned a beach bar on beautiful Simpson Bay Beach that we needed to visit. We asked the name of it and set out to find it one sunny afternoon.

We were staying on the other side of the Dutch Bridge from this bar so we took a hike down Front Street past the Dutch Bridge and turned back in to Simpson Bay Beach. The beach has gorgeous soft sand and turquoise blue water.

We stopped for a quick beverage at Mary’s Boon Resort and Spa and then wandered a short way over looking for a bar called Karakter.

Karakter Beach Bar Bus

Sure enough! The main part of the bar IS actually a bus and the drinks are mixed inside the bus. There are covered picnic tables, beach chairs and umbrellas in the ultra soft sand and it was a fantastic place to lime away the afternoon.

The bar is in close proximity to the airport, but the beach ambiance, beautiful sand and great drinks far outweighed the occasional roar of an airplane taking off or landing.

This table was reserved for some Rum Therapy!

Beach in front of Karakter

The Rum Punch is highly recommended – strong and fruity just like we like it.
Want to find out more? Check out their website here: Karakter Beach Bar

Cheers!

Find Karakter Beach Bar on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map

To see more posts on St. Maarten and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC