January 2014 | Rum Therapy

January 31, 2014June 5, 2019

What to See and Do in Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Whether arriving by cruise ship or spending time on the island on St. Maarten/St. Martin, Philipsburg, the capital of Dutch St. Maarten, offers a ton of fun things to see and do, most within view of the gorgeous blue water of Great Bay.

Philipsburg is an area of only a few streets sandwiched between the Salt Pond and beautiful Great Bay. There are many shops, bars, restaurants and musicians lining the streets. Do you like to shop? You can find a lot of items in Philipsburg from inexpensive souvenirs to diamonds and watches. Want to find something to eat? There are a variety of options ranging from very casual to elegant and tony. Any good bars? Well, of course! The boardwalk especially is dotted with bars with a wide variety of great tropical concoctions.

With the ability to dock 6+ large cruise liners and the addition in recent years of a wonderful boardwalk that is about 50 ft. wide and nearly as long as the waterfront of Great Bay, Philipsburg really caters to it’s visitors. From the cruise ships you can either walk down a lovely palm lined path or take a short water taxi ride to town. If staying on island, there are several fairly large parking lots.

Looking for a few ideas of what to see and do while visiting Philipsburg? These are a few things that we’ve enjoyed during our visits there.

1. The Beach

Although it can be just as busy as many of the other beautiful beaches in St. Maarten/St.Martin, Great Bay has gorgeous blue water, a calm surf and a variety of places to rent beach chairs and umbrellas. Plus you’re really close to some good bars, restaurants and shops when you need a break from the sun.

The turquoise blue water of Great Bay.

2. Eat & Drink

The majority of bars and restaurants line the boardwalk and offer a great view of the beach, surrounding hills and cruise ships. Each have their own tropical specialties.

Boardwalk Breeze at the Blue Bitch Bar

Pizza at Taloula Mango’s

Grab a $.99 beer at the Barefoot Bar to enjoy while walking the Boardwalk. The Barefoot Restaurant also serves up some excellent roti – mmm…roti…

Enjoy some good food and drink at Big Wood Grill on the Boardwalk, but don’t ask for a BBD if you are easily offended!

Walk through Big Wood Grill to get to Juggie’s Place, The Smallest Bar in the World!

Juggie’s Place on Front Street behind Big Wood Grill

Casual dining right on the beach at Chez Delphine

Stop, buy a cold drink and chat with some of the local vendors on the Boardwalk.

3. Shop

Front street and the connecting streets between the Boardwalk, Front and Back street have a large variety of shops carrying local crafts, souvenirs, liquor and more expensive items.

There are several liquor stores that carry a good selection of rums that we can’t find at home, so we usually buy a bottle or two to bring back with us.

And of course, be sure to stop at the Guavaberry Emporium on Front Street to sample different guavaberry rums, liquors and hot sauces. Be sure to try a Guavaberry Colada – so refreshing!

Direction sign next to the Guavaberry Emporium

So there you have it. Some of the things we’ve experienced and enjoyed during our visits to Philpsburg – so far. What have you enjoyed there?

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

All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

January 27, 2014June 24, 2021

Appleton Rum Factory Tour, Jamaica

Deep within the beautiful Jamaican countryside lies Appleton Estate, home of the family of wonderful Appleton rums. During our recent trip to Jamaica, we made the long trip from Negril through the lush fields of Nassau Valley, to take a tour and learn more about Appleton rums.

During the drive to Appleton, we passed by fields and fields of sugarcane, as well as mangoes, bananas, breadfruit and peanuts.

The estate itself sits on a beautiful site in lush Nassau Valley, close to the Black River.

We arrived at Appleton, were greeted by the friendly staff, paid our tour fee ($25 per person) and ushered into the bar, where we were offered a rum punch.

While sipping the tasty punch, we watched a brief video on the history of Appleton Estate and it’s rum.

Our tour guide then led us outside then to the estate grounds, where we were shown how donkeys were used to help squeeze the sugar cane and many other historical artifacts that have now been replaced with modern technology and processes.

We climbed the lookout tower to get a great view of the surrounding estate, countryside and limestone hills that protect the estate.

The tour moved on to the area where the distilling and aging take place.

Photography was not permitted in the actual distilling area, but we were able to snap some pictures in the aging area, where the rum is aged and rests for for many years in oak barrels.

After learning about the different distillation processes and examining the aging areas, we had the chance to press our own sugarcane and sample “wet sugar” (molasses) out of a copper pot.

A few more pictures of the grounds and we headed in to the best part (in our opinion) of the tour – the rum tasting.

We were given the opportunity, and encouraged, to try all of the rums that are somehow connected in the Appleton Rum Family including Wray & Nephew Overproof and Rum Cream, Coruba, Jamaican Blue Mountain Mist Coffee Liqueur and several Appleton Rums such as V/X and Genesis (white).

Unfortunately, the wonderful aged rums, Appleton Estate, Appleton 30 and Appleton 50 were not available for sampling. We though about bringing some of the Appleton 50 home and probably would have it we had more room in our suitcase… ;)

Is the Appleton Rum Factory Tour right for you? The cost of the tour is $25.00 per person (which includes a small complimentary bottle of rum to take with you). We paired the Rum Factory Tour with YS Falls and Floyd’s Pelican Bar, which made it an affordable experience for us. The cost of getting to Appleton can be high from Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Negril, but if you enjoy rum and would like to learn more about a premium rum manufacturer, the estate it’s produced on and have the opportunity to sample different rums in their portfolio, you will probably really enjoy this tour. We did.

Find Appleton Rum Estate on our Jamaica Map

To see more posts on Jamaica and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

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Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

January 20, 2014January 15, 2020

Captain Mulligan’s, Tortola

Need a place to relax, unwind, enjoy a few beverages and watch sports on a 30 ft. screen while in Tortola? That’s right, a huge 30 ft. outdoor screen – as well as multiple flat screens in the bar!

We were recently asked by one of our readers if we knew of a good place to watch the upcoming Super Bowl around Nanny Cay in Tortola. Having stopped a few times at Captain Mulligan’s in the past, we thought it might just fit the bill.

To find Captain Mulligan’s, turn into Nanny Cay and look to the left. It’s located on a nice grassy area with a view of Sea Cow Bay from the back.

The bar/restaurant is open air and there is a lot of additional seating in the yard around the bar.

Additionally, there is a new miniature golf course on which to challenge your friends during half time.

We like the laid back vibe, friendly people, open air and decent prices.

And although one of us REALLY likes the idea of watching sports on the huge outdoor screen (see above), the other one likes the idea that there is also a great local arts and pottery shop called Bamboushay within walking distance :)

If you are going to stop by on Super Bowl Sunday this year, Randy and Allison of Team Mulligans say that the specials for the day are $2 Coors Lite all day, $2 hotdogs during the game and the tail gate starts at 2pm. With a projector screen and 6 flat screen tv’s, wherever you are you cant miss the action!

Check them out on Facebook.

To see more posts on Tortola and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

January 15, 2014April 19, 2021

Princess Margaret Beach, Bequia

Princess Margaret Beach is a gorgeous stretch of light colored sand framed by lush green hills and turquoise blue water on the island of Bequia in the Grenadines.

Princess Margaret did in fact swim at this beach, thus the reason it is named after her!

The light sand beach is one of the pretty beaches in Admiralty Bay – a busy bay for boaters. It’s close to Port Elizabeth but not easy to access, so it’s usually pretty quiet.

We’ve had the pleasure of visiting this gorgeous beach twice, both time by boat. If you want to get here from Port Elizabeth, you can take a water taxi or, from what we heard, you can walk over by taking a steep path down from the main road.

The first time we visited, we spent time walking through the small cave at the end of the beach and snorkeling in rocky area around it.

The snorkeling was pretty good, but be sure to watch out for sea urchins in the rocks.

The second time we visited, we opted for some sunshine and Clarke’s Court “Grog” on the beach…

After a few hours of lounging, we headed back to the dock where we stopped in at a great bar at the end of Princess Margaret Beach called Jack’s Bar to enjoy some fabulous Rum Punch before heading back to our boat relaxed and tanned by the sun. Great day…

Jack’s Bar, Bequia

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

copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

January 14, 2014June 24, 2021

Frosty Long Island Iced Tea

This recipe is a re-mix of the regular Long Island Iced Tea with rum, of course. At 2.5 oz of liquor and liqueur (triple sec), it’s potent, though oddly enough, it doesn’t taste really “boozy”. So – be careful and drink responsibly! It’s cool and refreshing on a hot summer day and a glass can go down very easily… (Jump to Recipe)

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Print Recipe

Frosty Long Island Iced Tea

Course: Drinks

Servings:

Ingredients

1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz white rum
1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz tequila
1-2 squeezes fresh lemon
3/4 c. cola
1 1/5 c. ice
1 slice lemon
maraschino cherries

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and icy.
Pour into a glass and garnish with a lemon slice or maraschino cherries. (Actually the lemon slice makes more sense with iced tea, but we like the look of the cherries!)

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

January 11, 2014May 29, 2019

Floyd’s Pelican Bar, Jamaica

Floyd’s Pelican Bar was at the top of our must see list during our recent trip to Jamaica and we’re SO glad that we got to experience it.

This seriously cool bar sits on wooden stilts about 3/4’s of a mile from shore in Parottee Bay on the SW side of Jamaica. Built by local fisherman Floyd Forbes who apparently dreamed of building a bar out to sea on stilts – his dream bar first opened in 2001. Floyd named his bar “Pelican Bar” because of the many pelicans that hang out on the reef around the bar.

Our trip to Floyd’s was part of a great day of touring that we set up with Carlton of Turner Taxis and Tours. It was our last stop of the day after playing at YS Falls and touring the Appleton Rum Factory.

Carlton brought us down to Basil’s Bar in Parottee where we caught a ride on a fishing boat to Floyd’s. From here you can just barely see Floyd’s in the distance.

Our ride to Floyd’s

The ride from Basil’s took about 15 minutes and the water was calm and beautiful. The fee was $15 roundtrip per person.

Pulling up to Floyd’s we were amazed at the construction. It truly was built from planks of wood and stilts placed in the shallow water and it looked as if it would blow over in a rainstorm, but it was just one of the most interesting places you’d ever imagine seeing – especially that far out to sea.

Our boat dropped us off at the front steps and told us they’d be back to pick us up later…

What’s so special about Floyd’s Pelican Bar? We’ll try to show you through pics. Floyd’s is not large, but it seems every square inch has something interesting or unusual to check out. People from all over the world have left their mark or a memento during their visit.

The Pelican Bar was destroyed in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan and although Floyd didn’t carry insurance to re-build, other area businesses helped out with donations of wood and labor.

Out of the back of the main bar, Floyd has added an addition – a sun deck of sorts. Great place to enjoy a cold Red Stripe or some rum, and chat with the locals and others that have made their way to the Pelican Bar.

The water around Floyd’s is only a few feet deep and a great place to float, snorkel or ease your way in after enjoying a few beers (there’s no restroom at Floyd’s!) If it’s too busy to find a seat inside or on the sun deck, you can just lounge in the water with your beverages!

Apparently the lobster and fresh fish dinner’s are very tasty and if you’d like to dine while there, ask your driver to call ahead.

Be sure to bring a memento such as a t-shirt, flag, cap, etc. to leave marking your visit, or ask Floyd if he can help you find a place to carve your names and the date visited. We left a Rum Bum Cap and also gave Floyd a Rum Therapy decal. He promptly stuck it to a wooden plaque behind the bar, shook our hands and said “respect”.

The Rum Therapy Decal proudly sits behind the bar!

We grabbed another Red Stripe and sat down on the “front porch” to take in the surroundings before our boat arrived to take us back.

As we got in the boat and looked back at The Pelican Bar, we turned to each other and said, “That was just cool”. Don’t know what it is. The vibe, the attitude or the fact that someone had a dream to build a bar out to sea and saw it through. Yep, it certainly was cool. Thanks Floyd.

To see more posts on Jamaica and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

January 9, 2014May 29, 2019

Golf in the Dominican Republic

Not only does the Dominican Republic have stunning beaches, great rum (The 3 B’s – Bermudez, Brugal and Barcelo) and a plethora of great all-inclusive resorts, it’s becoming known as a Caribbean golf mecca. With 26 courses to choose from, it’s not hard to see why.

During our recent stay at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, two of the four in our group had had the pleasure of playing several of the areas courses – including The Hard Rock Golf Club, an 18 hole Championship Golf Course designed by Jack Nicklaus. The other two opted for spa time at Rock Spa (amazing!) and then spent time reviewing the beach…

The two other courses played were the Punta Espada Golf Club in Cap Cana and Corales in Punta Cana. The following pictures were taken during the spectacular round of golf at Corales.

Excellent golf on beautiful golf courses! The one we didn’t get to experience – but hope to? Teeth of the Dog in Casa de Campo….listed #1 in Dominican Republic in The Top 100 Golf Courses of the World.

If you’d like to experience some of the excellent golf courses of the Dominican Republic, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, the island is huge – so you may want to look into playing a course in the proximity of your resort – or choosing a resort close to the golf courses you’d like to play!

Secondly – not all of the courses are as in good of condition as others. Do some research on which courses were preferred by other golfers to avoid being disappointed in the experience.

And last – but certainly not least, be sure to save time to explore the gorgeous beaches and sample some Bermudez, Brugal and Barcelo rum – and perhaps even a little Dominican Republic Mamajuana!

To see more posts on the Dominican Republic and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

January 7, 2014November 6, 2021

Hot Rum & Chocolate Coffee

Today is the first day of Fall. Not sure how I feel about that. I love changing seasons and colorful leaves and all, but I’m not ready to put away the bathing suits and frozen drinks just yet! Sigh… Anyway, guess it’s time to start thinking about fall flavors. We won’t start the pumpkin stuff just yet, but how about a warm cup of coffee with rum, cinnamon and nutmeg? Mmmm. Still not happy about summer being over, but I must admit, cup of Hot Rum & Chocolate Coffee sounds pretty good right now!

Print Recipe

Hot Rum & Chocolate Coffee

Servings:

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. Hot Coffee
1/4 c. Whole Milk
2 tsp. Sugar
1/8 tsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
1 3/4 oz. Gold Rum (we used Mount Gay Eclipse)
Grated Chocolate for Garnish (we used Ghiradelli 72%)

Instructions

In a saucepan over low heat, stir together the hot coffee, whole milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is nice and warm.
Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and rum and stir again until warm.
Pour into a mug and top with grated chocolate (and whipped cream, if you wish!)
If you want to make the drink even more chocolatey, add 1 tsp of chocolate sauce to the saucepan with the coffee, whole milk and sugar. (Calories don't count in the winter, right?!)

January 5, 2014September 25, 2019

Sandy Spit, British Virgin Islands

Update: Sandy Spit survived the hurricanes of 2017, but lost the little vegetation it had to begin with! Local residents have been planting a few small trees that we hope will eventually take and re-vegetate Sandy Spit. Here’s a photo of a recent visit (post Irma).

I don’t know what it is about small, uninhabited tropical islands that gets us all excited. Maybe we watched a few too many episodes of Gilligan’s Island, or maybe it’s just the allure of complete, peace, quiet and solitude…

Whatever it is, our first visit in 2010 to Sandy Spit in the British Virgin Islands ranked right up there with visits to other favorite uninhabited tropical island such as Mopion and Petit Tabac in the Grenadines and Sandy Island, Carriacou. We had Sandy Spit all to ourselves for a few wonderful hours and spent the time wandering around, lounging in the sun, enjoying a wee bit of rum punch and enjoying the sound of the gentle waves lapping the shore.

It can take all of 10 minutes to walk around Sandy Spit – if you walk slowly! From Sandy Spit, it’s just a short distance to Green Cay, and on calm days this area can be a great place to snorkel. There are some great diving areas around Green Cay as well.

Green Cay as seen from Sandy Spit

Sandy Spit is rumored to have gotten it’s name because it’s just “spitting distance” from Jost Van Dyke. It’s also quite close to it’s slightly larger sister island, Sandy Cay and many people try to spend time at both while in the area.

The island is sand all the way around with just a bit of foliage in the middle. To the east you can see Tortola, and to the west you can see Little Jost Van Dyke and Jost Van Dyke.

Tortola on the east

The first time we visited Sandy Spit, we arrived via a cat during a week-long sail in the BVI. The second time, we rented a dinghy in Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke. Just a word of advice – if taking a dinghy over, be sure to check weather conditions before embarking on the journey. When there is a strong north swell, it can be difficult – if not dangerous to beach your dinghy on Sandy Spit. We know this now…

On calm days, the snorkeling is excellent and the surf is calm and great for swimming, floating and pure relaxation.

Jost Van Dyke in the distance

Ahhh…Sandy Spit. A Gilligan-esque slice of paradise!

Have you spent time on Sandy Spit?

To see more posts on the British Virgin Islands and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

January 3, 2014June 6, 2019

Bob Marley Nine Mile Tour, Jamaica

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
Bob Marley

If you’re in Jamaica and you’re a big fan of Bob Marley, you might find it well worth the long, rather expensive trek to Nine Mile, Jamaica to visit the birthplace and resting place of the legendary reggae musician.

While staying in Runaway Bay during our recent Jamaica trip, we hired a driver to take us to Scotchies to sample what we heard was some of the best jerk on the island. While driving to Scotchies, our driver Rodney asked if we were going to make the trek up to Nine Mile. He proceeded to tell us about the tour and then said for an extra $100, he’d take us up himself.

We’d already looked into taking a tour through our hotel or renting a car and driving up ourselves, and honestly, $100 seemed like a pretty good deal for a private ride there and back so we agreed. It turned out to be a great decision.

From Scotchies (close to Ocho Rios) it was a little more than an hour and a half drive to Nine Mile. The drive was scenic, passing through several small towns and incredibly lush Jamaican mountainside – a stark contrast from the busy tourist areas and a part of Jamaica that many people don’t get the chance to see.

Rodney was a good tour guide – full of information about his country, and stopped whenever we wanted to take a picture or just check out the view. We were so glad we didn’t rent a car and try to find Nine Mile on our own. There weren’t many signs and the roads were quite windy and bumpy.

Shortly after arriving in the town of Nine Mile, we pulled up to two massive gates which opened up to let us in and then quickly shut behind us.

From the parking lot, we walked up to the gift shop to pay our entrance fee (about $19 pp) and made our way up to meet our tour guide.

Before the tour, we were given the opportunity to enjoy some food or a beverage in the bar and we opted for a specialty Bob Marley shot (we got to keep the shot glasses). Our bartender masterfully layered our glasses with red, yellow and green and then lit them on fire!

We were instructed to stick a straw in the glass and suck it right down, which we did, and thankfully the flame extinguished itself before ingested!

Shortly thereafter, we met our tour guide who led us and two others to our first stop – a room containing many of Bob’s awards, including gold and platinum albums, paintings of Bob and a piano he used to play.

From there, we moved to a stage where we enjoyed some music from local musicians.

And then through another gate and up to the house where Bob Marley lived…

It’s requested that shoes are removed prior to entering the house and mausoleum.

Entrance to Bob’s childhood home

The room mentioned in Bob’s song “Is This Love”

We’ll be together, with a roof right over our heads,
We’ll share the shelter, of my single bed.

Mt. Zion Rock or Pillow Rock – a place Bob would sit to read his Bible and get inspiration for his songs. Pillow Rock is mentioned in his song “Talkin’ Blues”.

Cold ground was my bed last night
And rock was my pillow, too.

Bob was laid to rest inside one of the mausoleums on property along with his guitar. At the request of his mother, his half-brother was laid to rest with Bob.

All in all, we spent about $172 to drive to Nine Mile and take the tour – which is less than we would have spent on a larger tour. ($100 taxi, $36 entry fee, $26 for two specialty shots, $5 tip for musicians, $5 tip for tour guide)

Although the Nine Mile experience is a bit expensive, we felt the opportunity to see the places that influenced the reggae legend and learn more about the man who stood for peace, respect and freedom was… priceless.

Find the Bob Marley Mausoleum on our Jamaica Map

To see more posts on Jamaica and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory