Rum Therapy, Author at Rum Therapy

March 22, 2011June 24, 2021

Painkiller

We took our very first trip to St. John in the mid 90′s and knew nothing about the island before we went. Little did we know that it would become one of our very favorite destinations in the Caribbean!
(Jump to Recipe)

We were traveling to the Virgin Islands for the first time via a cruise ship and wanted to see everything we could. Our first stop was in St. Thomas and we had heard that we should try to get to St. John. We were sure to ask around to find out what to see and do while on the island and most suggested spending time on one of St. John’s beautiful beaches. One person, however, recommended making a stop at Pusser’s before catching the ferry in Cruz Bay, to try a Painkiller. The Pusser’s Bar is no longer on St. John, but we’ll always have fond memories of our first Painkiller experience.

Our waiter that day eagerly obliged when we ordered our first Painkiller and asked if we wanted that with 2, 3 or 4 shots of rum. What – 4 shots of rum??? In each drink??? We wussed out and ordered our Painkillers with a measly 2 shots each (hee, hee) knowing that we had to be able to find our way back to the ship or else risk being stranded on this beautiful piece of paradise – Hmmm. No – we really had to get back to the ship….

One taste and voilà! We were hooked! These things truly could kill the pain! Slightly sunburned and in no pain at all, we caught the ferry back to St. Thomas just in time to catch our ship. We knew we’d be back to St. John someday and knew that the “Painkiller” had become one of our new favorite rum drinks!

Since that day we’ve enjoyed a few Painkillers (and it’s cousin the “Nilla Killa”) in Paradise – most notably on Jost Van Dyke at the Soggy Dollar Bar – not that you really need to kill much pain in a paradise like White Bay…

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Print Recipe

Painkiller

By far one of the most popular rum drinks in the Virgin Islands, this delicious concoction will put you in the "island" state of mind.

Course: Drinks

Servings:

Author: Rum Therapy

Ingredients

4 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. orange juice
1 oz. coconut cream
2,3,4 oz. rum (depending upon your level of pain!)
Sprinkle freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

Shake or stir all ingredients (except for the nutmeg) and pour over ice in a tall glass.
Sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.
Put your feet up and enjoy the taste of paradise!

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

March 16, 2011November 7, 2020

Homemade Irish Cream

Irish Cream’s are delectable cream liqueurs commonly made from whiskey. I love the smooth creamy taste and enjoy it on the rocks as well as in drinks such as Bushwhacker’s. I recently ran across a recipe for a Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur using rum instead of whiskey and figured we’d just have to mix up a batch and compare rum to whiskey! If you’ve already tried this, let us know what you think! Sláinte!! (To your health in Irish)

Print Recipe

Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur

Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur using rum instead of whiskey

Course: Drinks

Ingredients

1 3/4 c. Gold Rum
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz)
1 c. Whipping Cream
4 Eggs
2 Tbs. Chocolate Syrup
2 tsp. Instant Coffee
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp. Almond Extract

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Store tightly covered in refrigerator for up to 1 month. Stir before serving.

Notes

Here’s a recipe for a shooter that might work quite well with the Homemade Rum Irish Cream Liqueur:

Irish Frost:
To one shot Irish Cream liqueur, add a splash of cream of coconut and a splash of half and half. Shake and serve in a chilled shot glass.

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

March 12, 2011June 6, 2019

Snorkeling at Buck Island, St. Croix

I’m scared to scuba dive. There, I said it. I thought about doing a resort course once, but when I learned that you had to be able to take the air tube out of your mouth and share it with someone else and that there is actually a chance that you could run out of air that many feet below the surface… I’m actually in awe of those who do dive, I mean, the pictures I’ve seen of their underwater world are stunning.

Anyway…John, the other half of this team likes to dive, but thankfully he also likes to snorkel – and I LOVE snorkeling.

Here we are, foggy lenses and all!

So we’ve been talking lately a lot about our awesome recent trip to St. Croix. On the list for this trip was a visit to Buck Island, an island just off of St. Croix that has been designated a national monument. Snorkeling there was purported to be amazing, and at the easternmost part of the reef there is an underwater trail – similar to the underwater trail found in Trunk Bay on St. John.

We’d snorkeled Trunk Bay several times – way back before it got so darned popular and crowded and so we were mildly interested in comparing the two trails, although we were more interested in seeing the vibrant coral and fish.

We found a charter recommended by Fodors and Frommers tour guides and booked a tour to sail, snorkel and explore on Teroro II the following day. The Teroro II is a trimaran and we boarded with about 12 other guests.

Teroro II

Carl was our Captain for the day. He was full of information and stories about Buck Island and St. Croix and did his best to make sure everyone was having a good time.

Captain Carl

We had a great sail out to the island and attached to a mooring ball offshore. We donned our gear and quickly jumped in.

The Buck Island Underwater Snorkel Trail consists of a series of underwater plaques indicating some of the flora and fauna found around the reef. After diving in, we soon found one of the plaques in the underwater trail showing the beginning of the trail.

We saw a rather large fish just a few feet away and began swimming after him to get a picture.

Then saw this plaque…

Thankfully he wasn’t interested in us.

We followed the trail for a while and then veered off on our own. The sun was out and the water was warm clear – although a tad choppy. Fish were abundant and the coral was colorful.

An hour flew by and we were signaled to come back to the boat for our short sail to the other side of the island for some beach time!

Find Buck Island on our St. Croix Map

To see more posts on St. Croix 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

March 4, 2011November 7, 2020

Making Spiced Rum

Spiced rum. It seems to be just one of those things that either you love, or, you don’t. The subtle varieties of tastes found in different spiced rums are a result of the types and amount of spices added – and there are some spiced rums I’ve tried that have a combinations of spices that just weren’t that pleasing to my palate. I recently ran across directions for making your own spiced rum and initially was interested in finding out what spices are used, but then became intrigued in creating my own variety of spiced rum – a perfect version, of course for my tastes at least! I went shopping today for a few of the following spices and am going to start creating my own version this weekend. Let me know if you come up your own personalized spiced rum and what your secret ingredient is!

Print Recipe

Making Your Own Spiced Rum

Create the perfect spiced rum for your own palate!

Course: Drinks

Servings: bottle

Ingredients

1 bottle Good Quality Gold Rum (If you don’t like the taste of the basic rum, you won’t like the taste of the finished product!)
1 Vanilla Bean Pod (Split in half)
1 slice Orange Peel (3 inches long)
1 Cinnamon Stick
3 Whole Allspice Berries
3 Whole Cloves
5 Whole Black Peppercorns
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)

**OPTIONAL

1 slice Ginger
1 point Star Anise

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to the rum bottle or pour all ingredients into a wide-mouthed, airtight container and seal.
Let stand in a cool dark place for 24 hours to one month.
Shake the container occasionally and taste until the flavor is to your liking.
The more flavor you want, the longer you should let it sit.
Strain the spices out and re-bottle the liquid.

Notes

Tweak the flavors to your liking by increasing or reducing the amount of each spice or by experimenting with other spices. Make this spiced rum one that will truly satisfy your senses!

Find more rum recipes here:

Rum Recipe Picture Directory

Rum Recipes by Category

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

March 2, 2011June 6, 2019

Glass Bottom Kayaking in a Bioluminescent Bay

During our recent vacation in St. Croix, we had one evening left to experience something special. I would have loved to have been there for Jump Up, a carnival like party held four times a year in Christiansted, but we missed it by a week. So, I got online to search for an adventure and quickly found it. Glass Bottom Kayaking in a Bioluminescent Bay! “What the heck is that?” was the reply we got when we told our traveling friends what we wanted to do that last night. Kayaking – AT NIGHT – in a pitch black lagoon? Were we crazy?

We had read about a bioluminescent bay in Vieques, but didn’t realize there was one in St. Croix. The organism that creates the luminescence is called a single celled bioluminescent dinoflagellate. This organism emits a greenish light when agitated at night. The conditions, including how bright the moon is that night, need to be just right to get a good effect and our guide thought that tonight might be just right.

We were to meet our guide at Altoona Lagoon on the northeast side of St. Croix at about 6:30p.m. We were excited, but a bit nervous given we had really only kayaked once and it was in broad daylight.

Craig and Bryce Scott, the owner/operators of Sea Thru Kayaks VI met us at a small bonfire close to the mouth of Altoona Lagoon and had smore’s ready for us to prepare while we waited for the rest of the group.

The Scott’s own 10 glass bottomed kayaks called Molokinis, an all-transparent two passenger kayak made out of the same durable polycarbonate material used in the production of bulletproof glass and fighter jet canopies.

The rest of the group arrived, Bryce and Scott loaded us all into our kayak (two per kayak) and we were off. We ended up at the back of the pack somehow and as we headed off in the pitch dark toward the big lagoon we both wondered what we were getting in to!

Bryce did a pretty good job of keeping all of the kayaks together even though he was only equipped with a glow stick and a flashlight. He warned us that we may have fish jump right into our kayak and not to panic! No problem! We had to work pretty hard against the current to get to the other side of the lagoon where the bioluminescent organism had the strongest concentration. About halfway there, we started to notice bright little sparkling flashes under us – cool! It was really hard to get on camera – our flash was not conducive to capturing the glow of what we were seeing, but you can see a few of the sparkles on the bottom of the boat here.

As we got to the other end of the lagoon the luminescence got stronger. Whatever touched the water made it glow – the oar, your hand, even fish underneath the boat! It was quite a sight! We played in the lagoon for about 15 minutes until raindrops began to fall. Bryce rounded us up and said we better be getting back – sometimes these squalls can get quite nasty! Hmmm…in a kayak in the dark in the middle of a lagoon and no clue how to get back. We got right in line behind him!

Sure enough, as we headed back, several minnows jumped right into the kayak. A little freaky at first to feel them flipping around against your leg in the kayak in the dark. Glad he warned us…

We arrived back at our base in good shape. What an adventure. Wish we could share more pics, but guess you’ll have to see it for yourselves!

To find out more about Sea Thru Kayaks, VI, check out their website: Sea Thru Kayaks, VI

More posts on St. Croix that you might be interested in:

Rum Therapy On St. Croix

Turtle Beach, Buck Island, St. Croix

Sandy Point, St. Croix

Cruzan Rum Factory Tour

Snorkeling at Buck Island

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

February 26, 2011May 29, 2019

Coconuts on the Beach, St. Croix

When visiting a new tropical place, we always try to scope out the funky beach bars and the locals hangouts. Before visiting St. Croix, we asked the folks at St. Croix Lime for recommendations. They obliged and also reminded us to check the calendar on their website for live music and updates.

Coconut’s on the Beach was a bar we saw mentioned on the website and passed by it while driving through Frederiksted and thought we’d stop for some liquid refreshment.

There was a cloud looming overhead and no cruise ships in port that day so Coconuts was quiet, but looked like a great place to sit back and relax.

We ordered a few Corona’s, sat down and took it all in. From Coconut’s you can see the cruise ship pier at Fredriksted, you can catch a glimpse of the lovely Sandy Point Beach or you can stare out at the beach right under the bar.

Would have loved to have been there to enjoy the nightlife and some live music! By the time we left, a few more tables had filled up and as we walked through the Wall of Lost Soles, we figured we’d be back someday…

For another Corona, or perhaps a Cruzan Confusion!!

To find out more, visit Coconuts website here:
Coconuts on the Beach

More posts on St. Croix that you might be interested in:

Rum Therapy On St. Croix

Turtle Beach, Buck Island, St. Croix

Sandy Point, St. Croix

Cruzan Rum Factory Tour

Snorkeling at Buck Island

Mt. Pellier Domino Club, St. Croix

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

February 22, 2011August 12, 2020

Bones Rum

As we prepared for a recent USVI adventure, we read about the Bones Rum shops in St. Thomas and St. John and had to add it to the list of places to visit. Little did we know, we would actually end up visiting both Bones Rum locations the same day!
(Note: the Bones Rum Shop closed in St. John in 2013, so be sure to visit Bones at their store in St. Thomas)

We weren’t able to find an address for the Bones Rum Shop in St. Thomas but read that it was located across from Charlotte Amalie, so we started walking. After searching a bit, we ran right into it. It’s located on Waterfront Drive just a little west of where you catch the ferry (from Charlotte Amalie) to St. John. (Find Bones Rum on our St. Thomas Map)

Bones Rum, St. Thomas

The store carries a variety of branded merchandise and features a bar with free rum tasting and “self pour drinks” – excellent concept! We eagerly agreed to the free rum tasting and must agree with the Bones Rum slogan “Smooth Rum for the Rough Seas”…

For $8.00 you can get a glass of one of the featured varieties of frozen drinks (including Painkillers) and then add the rum yourself! For an extra $3.00 you can get it in a Bones Rum glass that you can take home.

We sampled some of their tasty BBQ sauces along with our rum drinks.

At the time of writing, Bones Rum is only available in their store on St. Thomas, so be sure to bring a bottle (or two) home if you like it.

Here’s one of the recipe’s from the Bones Recipe Card

Pirates Grog
(makes one)

2. oz. Bones Rum
2 oz. water
3/4 oz. Lime Juice
1 tsp Brown Sugar
2 cloves
1 Cinnamon Stick

Heat in a saucepan and serve in a mug.

Find the Bones Rum Store on our St. Thomas Map

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

February 21, 2011March 11, 2022

The Cruzan Confusion

While spending a week in St Croix, we were introduced to a rum drink called the Cruzan Confusion. Our wonderful bartender, Dave, at the Divi Carina Resort in St Croix gave us his secret recipe for this wonderful and oh-so-powerful concoction, but we thought we’d check the internet to see if there was another recipe posted. We found a number of sites with the following Cruzan Confusion recipe, and I’ve included Dave’s, for comparison at the end. Let the confusion commence!!

Print Recipe

Cruzan Confusion

Servings:

Ingredients

2 oz Cruzan Mango Rum
2 oz Cruzan Coconut Rum
2 oz Pineapple Juice

Instructions

Stir together in a chilled cocktail glass and serve.

Print Recipe

Dave's Cruzan Confusion

Servings:

Ingredients

1/2 oz Your choice of mix of Cruzan Rums up to about 4 oz. (current Cruzan flavors: banana, black cherry, citrus, strawberry, coconut, guava, mango, pineapple, raspberry, and vanilla)
2 oz Pineapple Juice
Splash Grenadine
Cherry and Lime for Garnish
1/4 Cruzan Black Strap Rum

Instructions

Blend the flavored rum, pineapple juice and grenadine together and pour over ice.
Fill a biodegradable straw with Cruzan Black Strap, add garnish and enjoy.

Find more rum recipes here:

Rum Recipe Picture Directory

Rum Recipes by Category

February 10, 2011August 13, 2019

Cruzan Rum Factory Tour

We just returned from enjoying a week of Rum Therapy in St. Croix. We’d never been to St. Croix before, so there were many things we wanted to check out. One of the top things on our list was a tour of the Cruzan Rum Factory.

Finding the Cruzan Rum Factory was an adventure in itself. For those of you who have been on St. Croix, you may know that there aren’t a ton of signs directing you to different sites, and the map didn’t show many of the small roads. We probably could have purchased a more detailed map somewhere, but how lost could we get on an island????….

Anyway, we headed to the west end of the island. John was driving, ’cause they drive on the left side and I volunteered to navigate. He may have ended up with the best end of the deal! We turned on 64 as the map indicated, only to find that 64 was actually a loop and we needed to be clear on the other side of that loop. Finally figuring it out, we saw the factory through the foliage. As we turned in, we could smell a wonderfully sweet aroma…molasses!

We found our way to the building where the tour started and anxiously awaited our guide. Tours at the Cruzan Rum Factory are $5.00 per adult and run continuously from 9:00-11:30a.m. and 1:00-4:15p.m.

Turns out, our tour guide was Karen Nelthropp Low, a member of the Nelthropp Family that has produced Cruzan Rum for 7 generations on St. Croix. She certainly knew her stuff and eagerly answered all of our questions and then some.

St. Croix used to produce quite a bit of sugar cane until the 1960’s and up to that point the Cruzan Distillery used mainly molasses made from local sugar cane. Now a high end molasses from Guatemala is shipped into the local port daily and then delivered by trucks to the distillery.

We began the tour by walking past enormous vats of molasses, tropical rain water and yeast fermenting. It is quite the active process with lots of bubbling and gurgling occurring. The aroma was strong and sweet and it was tempting to just stick your finger in to give it a taste.

When the bubbling and gurgling stop, the molasses has fermented and is ready for the next step.

Karen told us the the Nelthropp family and staff sit down daily to test rum in various stages of production to ensure the quality of the product. Wonder if they’re hiring?

We also learned that Cruzan takes extra time and care to remove the fusels (heads and tails as she explained it) from the rum during distillation. The fusel oil is an impurity that can cause a slightly antiseptic smell and taste and can contribute to hangovers! We inadvertently tested this statement several times during this trip and must say – they may have something here!

The way in which a rum’s age is calculated was a bit confusing, but I found it quite interesting that Cruzan uses one-time use bourbon barrels from Jim Beam Bourbon Distillery to age their rums.

After appropriately aging, the rum is removed from the barrel by tapping out the cork and emptying the rum and allowing it to flow from a cistern to a holding tank.

The rum is sent to Florida to be bottled. Cruzan used to bottle its rums in St. Croix, but due to the increase in demand for their rum, they needed to move that part of the process off island.

The tour concludes with a rum tasting and a cocktail of your choice! We had a good time and learned a bit about rum manufacturing. The tour is well worth it if you get to St. Croix someday! Cruzan Rum website: http://cruzanrum.com/

More posts on St. Croix that you might be interested in:

Rum Therapy On St. Croix

Turtle Beach, Buck Island, St. Croix

Sandy Point, St. Croix

Snorkeling at Buck Island

Glass Bottom Kayaking in a Bioluminescent Bay

Mt. Pellier Domino Club, St. Croix

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 26, 2011May 29, 2011

The Equator Shooter

I haven’t been able to concentrate very well lately – my mind keeps wandering to an island in the sun. In fact, in just a few days my toes will be happily wiggling in some warm sand. As we head in the direction of the equator we will celebrate the beginning of a tropical holiday with one (or possible two!) of these yummy concoctions. Maybe you would like one too?

The Equator Shooter

1/2 oz peach schnapps
1/2 oz white rum
Grenadine syrup

Layer ingredients in the exact order. Grenadine should sit on top for a little bit before sliding down the inside of the shot glass.

photo: Pamela Ott