March 2017 | Rum Therapy

March 18, 2017June 24, 2021

Afrodisiac

We received a lovely bottle of Afrohead Briland 07 Premium Aged Dark Rum last week and spent some time sampling it neat and over one cube, enjoying it’s creamy, smooth taste. Although this rum can easily be enjoyed on it’s own, we decided to try it in one of the recipes found on their website. We chose a recipe called Afrodisiac – mainly because of it’s name, but also because of the interesting blend of ingredients. The taste combines a bit of hot, sweet and spicy and showcases the deliciousness of this distinctive rum. Cheers!

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Print Recipe

Afrodisiac

This recipe combines a bit of hot, sweet and spicy and showcases the deliciousness of this distinctive rum.

Course: Drinks

Servings:

Ingredients

2 oz. AFROHEAD Rum
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 oz. Simple Syrup
1 1/2 oz. Papaya Juice
1 Jalapeno

Instructions

Slice and Muddle jalapeño in shaker.
Add AFROHEAD Rum, lemon juice, simple syrup and papaya juice.
Shake and strain into chilled martini glass.
Garnish with jalapeño slice.

Notes

For more recipes and information on AFROHEAD Rums, see their website, follow them on Facebook, and check out their Instagram feed.

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

March 16, 2017June 6, 2019

Haleakalā National Park – the View from the Top of Maui

We could see the observatory buildings at the summit flying in – just little bity white balls on the very top of Maui. We knew that the next day we’d be standing up there looking down into the crater of Haleakalā, and we were excited to witness that view once again.

Haleakalā Crater

This would be our second time to the top. We’d taken this trip years ago, when we first visited Maui and rented a convertible to tool around in. We had the top down as we started our ascent and ended up freezing our tushes off by the time we reached the top. It can be a large temperature drop – even on very nice days.

The ride up is gorgeous. On a clear day, you can see the verdant colors of the Maui central valley – all the way to the beautiful dark blue ocean. Many days though, as you approach the summit, you ascend above the clouds into an otherworldly landscape, feeling that you may have just been transported to another planet. The first time we visited, the clouds below us were thick, blocking our views of the valley and ocean, but above the clouds the weather was bright and beautiful and we took some incredible photos of the rough lava rock with a pillow of clouds below.

Our first stop was the Visitor Center, which in addition to providing information on the park, offers a fantastic view of the crater below.

After visiting the Visitors Center, we grabbed our cameras, jackets, gloves and some water and made our way to a hiking path that winds it’s way down into the center of the crater. There are 35+ miles of hiking trails on Haleakalā, but we hiked only about an hour as we wanted to visit Sammy Haggar’s Rum Distillery on the way back down the mountain (FYI – it’s closed on Sunday…).

The sunrise from the top of Haleakalā is said to be absolutely stunning and has become so popular that you need to make a reservation – which can be done here, up to 60 days before your visit. Also popular is an invigorating bike tour down the mountain; search for tour operators that provide a lift to the top, a tour guide, and all of the equipment (hopefully with good brakes!). Want to really experience the crater? There are a couple of remote cabins that you can rent in the crater that require a bit of a hike in and then back out. Other activities offered within the park? Hang gliding and horseback riding!

While visiting, be sure to look for Hawaii’s state bird, the Nene (Hawaiian goose), and the Haleakalā Silversword, found only on the upper slopes of the mountain and can take up to 50 years to flower.

After our hike, we proceeded up to the summit, just a little farther than the Visitor Center. Here, the view of the crater is not quite as spectacular, but the view of the valley below and the bit island of Hawaii in the distance, is spectacular.

The big island of Hawaii in the distance

Haleakalā Observatories – looks a bit different than it did flying in!

Whether you hike, bike, horseback ride, hanglide or just sightsee, a trek to the top is well worth it.

Have you visited Haleakalā National Park to see the view from the top of Maui?

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

March 5, 2017June 24, 2021

Rum Distillery Tours on the Island of St. Croix

St. Croix, the largest of the US Virgin Islands, not only has beautiful beaches, top-notch culinary experiences and a wide variety of great accommodations, it offers two distinctly different, yet interesting, rum distilleries tours for rum lovers – or those that would just like to learn more about rum.

Cruzan Rum and Captain Morgan are the two distilleries found on this, the largest US Virgin Island. Cruzan Rums have been crafted on St. Croix by the Nelthropp family for generations while Captain Morgan opened it’s St. Croix Distillery in 2011 and a visitor center on the site the following year. What does that mean for rum lovers like you and me? You’ve got two completely different tours to experience on St. Croix and you can easily do both in one afternoon!

We began our rum tour by getting a lift in Christiansted from Joseph, of Joseph’s VIP Taxi Tours (contact him at 340-277-6133). We knew we would be enjoying the rum drinks at the end of each tour and hiring a taxi is the way to go. Joseph was a great tour guide and was recently voted taxi driver of the year on St. Croix. He was warm and welcoming, and gave us some great info on St. Croix along the way.

First stop? The Captain Morgan Experience Center. Here we started the tour with a short and entertaining movie about Captain Morgan, then followed a tour guide through the Information Center, learning about the history and current Captain Morgan products.

Outside, we boarded a small tram to take a short tour through the distillery, learning about the distilling process along the way.

Once back at the facility, we were treated to two rum drinks of our choice and tastes of any the different types of rums, if desired.

At the end of the tour, you can peruse through the Captain Morgan shop and take home a souvenir of your visit.

Joseph was waiting for us outside and we boarded the van for our next rum experience. Just a short hop away, we entered the Cruzan Rum facility.

We were immediately taken by the Cruzan rum culture and our first view of a sugar mill surrounded by the flags of the seven nations that have ruled St. Croix – the most of any of the US Virgin Islands.

Walking up to the Visitors Center, we enjoyed the sights of a generations old facility.

Our tour guide took us through the actual distillery and we loved being so close to the process, smelling the molasses and watching it ferment.

In one of the storage rooms, filled with barrels and barrels of the delicious aging elixir, she explained the aging process and the color variations of different rums.

At the end of the tour, we were deposited in the Cruzan tasting room – not a bad place to be, where we enjoyed our choice of several different Cruzan Rum cocktails and again could sample the individual rums, if we wished (we did…).

After a few minutes of shopping, we headed back to find Joseph, who was waiting patiently for his, then, very happy crew, and we made our way back to our home for the night, Hotel Caravelle in Christiansted.

Have you taken the rum tours on St. Croix? Tell us about it!

Find out more about the rum tours here:

Captain Morgan

Cruzan Rum

A special thanks to USVI Tourism Board for arranging our rum distillery tours!