Created at one of the oldest distilleries in the Caribbean, Blue Chair Bay White Rum makes a delightful base for classic and new aged cocktails. Developed by Kenny Chesney and marketed by his Fishbowl Spirits company, the rum has found an eager audience among the “No Shoes Nation” crowd.
Blue Chair Bay’s acclaimed white rum from Barbados is a perfect base for a sultry late summer cocktail, such as the Indian Summer.
This crystal clear spirit offers aromas of light golden sugar and tropical fruits, followed by subtle spice and beach-aged hints of vanilla, rum cake and gentle oak. It’s a classic clean light Barbados rum with hints of golden sugar, tropical and dried fruits, mild spice, gentle vanilla and bread pudding, with a pleasant, refreshing and delicate finish.
It’s a rum fanatic’s dream. A luxury Caribbean Rum Cruise featuring VIP tours of rum distilleries — from large industrial factories to small plantation-style artisanal operations — spanning the week of November 15-22, 2015.
Departing from San Juan, the 2015 Rum Renaissance Caribbean Cruise will visit Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Sint Maarten and St. Croix before returning to Puerto Rico.
The 2015 Rum Renaissance Caribbean Cruise visits rum distilleries and tasting rooms in Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Sint Maarten, St. Croix and Puerto Rico from November 15 to 22 aboard the Royal Caribbean Jewel Of The Seas.
Organized by Deborah Fogarty at Be Well Travel, this Caribbean Rum Cruise offers a unique opportunity to visit six islands in seven days, with optional land tours visiting up to nine distilleries and visitor centers, plus rum seminars, special tasting events and visits to authentic island rum shops along the way.
The Rum Renaissance Caribbean Rum Cruise takes place on Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas, a dazzling Radiance-class ship which combines sleek swiftness, panoramic vistas, and wide-open spaces for maximum relaxation and comfort. All meals aboard the ship are included.
The Ultimate Caribbean Rum Cruise
Departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday, November 15 at 8:30pm, the ship sets sail for Barbados, arriving Tuesday morning for a full-day adventure.
Bridgetown, Barbados
The first stop is St. Nicholas Abbey, an old historic cane plantation where they create small batches of fresh rum from their own cane syrup in a copper pot still. After a stop for Bajan lunch, the group proceeds to another historic sugar plantation where Foursquare Distillery makes some of the very best rums in the Caribbean from both a traditional pot and a modern column still. The final stop in Barbados is the Mount Gay welcome center for a presentation of this iconic rum brand’s history and a VIP tasting of their finest rums.
Roseau, St. Lucia
On Wednesday morning, Caribbean Rum Cruise enthusiasts awake in St. Lucia to embark on a breath-taking tour through the verdant hills near Roseau valley. The St Lucia Distillers Group of Companies produces world class rums and liqueurs in a process that has, like its environment, changed little in a hundred years. Several types of copper pot stills produce unique distillates, which are aged in bourbon and port barrels. A special VIP tasting session reveals dozens of wonderful expressions.
St. John, Antigua
On Thursday, a visit to Antigua Distillery near the St. John’s cruise port reveals the copper Coffey column still used to create English Harbour rums, including the popular 5 year old, the 10 year reserve and the 1981 Vintage.
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
The very popular Dutch port of Sint Maarten on Friday offers a myriad of fine shops in Philipsburg along Front Street with 100% duty-free prices. The tour visits the popular Caribbean Liquors & Tobacco shop for rum tastings and a fine selection of Caribbean spirits with great prices.
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
The island of St. Croix is the gem of the U.S. Virgin Islands. On Saturday, a day tour of the Cruzan rum distillery is followed by lunch and a visit to the Captain Morgan distillery and welcome center.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
As the ship saunters into Old San Juan harbor Sunday morning, passengers enjoy a leisurely final breakfast before departing. Americans exit through customs here in Puerto Rico, so there’s no need to go through customs again back on the U.S. mainland.
After disembarking, a visit to the distillery at Casa Bacardi reveals much about the company’s storied past and a view of this modern production facility in action. Back in Old San Juan, the DonQ Welcome Center is a great destination for refreshing cocktails and a presentation on the history of Puerto Rico’s number one rum brand.
The up and coming rum brand The Real McCoy recently announced a strategic partnership with Davos Brands, an importer and marketer of luxury wines and spirits. Davos seeks to develop The Real McCoy brand nationally, focusing on building sales, distribution and marketing of its premium portfolio.
The Real McCoy Rum brand has recently partnered with Davos Brands to expand distribution of their acclaimed premium rum from Barbados, inspired by prohibition rum runner Bill McCoy (known as the Real McCoy).
The quickly growing Davos Brands, which launched in July 2014 with Ty Ku Sake and Zyr Russian Vodka, partners with up-and-coming best in class wine and spirit brands to develop and execute innovative sales and marketing strategies under the leadership of the Company’s Vice Chairman, Guillaume Cuvelier, founder and former CEO of Svedka Vodka.
The Real McCoy Rum Story
Created by Bailey Pryor, an Emmy award winning filmmaker, The Real McCoy Rum was developed when Pryor was working on a documentary film based on famed Prohibition-era rum runner, Bill McCoy. The pioneer runner shipped the purest rum from Barbados to New York while remaining in international waters, three miles from the coast. McCoy’s high quality rum was never cut with impurities like impersonator runners, and became known around the world as “The Real McCoy.”
Intrigued and inspired by McCoy’s story, Pryor set out to bring the original fabled rum back to the market. After securing the trademark for The Real McCoy, Pryor partnered with famed Master Distiller, Richard Seale from the Foursquare distillery in Barbados. Evidence suggests this is the same family-run distillery used by McCoy himself back in 1920, thus launching The Real McCoy Rum in the US inspired by the original recipes of 3, 5, and 12 year aged rums.
“The McCoy story is an amazing component of American history, and we are proud to bring this product to the marketplace after so many years of research and development. We wanted to make sure that The Real McCoy rum was authentically made and lived up to McCoy’s standards as the ultimate super-premium rum, totally unadulterated and hand-crafted in the original Prohibition Tradition. We look forward to working with Davos Brands to expand our business and claim the top position in Super-Premium rum,” says Bailey Pryor.
“The Real McCoy is a captivating true story that Bailey’s five-Emmy award winning documentary presents masterfully [currently on PBS]. Creating a connection between a brand name that everyone is familiar with and a great piece of American history in the rum category is simply brilliant. We are incredibly excited and proud to represent The Real McCoy,” says Guillaume Cuvelier.
Real McCoy Rum Awards
Since debuting at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival in 2013, The Real McCoy Rum products have won numerous awards at global competitions, including the International Rum Expert Panel (RumXP) Gold and Best In Class awards.
Ahoy the Duppy Share aged rum. The Westbourne Drinks Company of London has launched a premium expression of blended aged rums from Jamaica and Barbados — The Duppies Share — inspired by the legend of island duppies, the unseen gregarious forces of the Caribbean that conspire to steal a share of fine rum resting in barrels via evaporation.
The Duppy Share features a delightful blend of aged rum from Jamaica and Barbados, imported into the UK by Westbourne Drinks Company.
In whiskey, the loss of spirit to evaporation is known as the angel’s share. Duppies, on the other hand are said to be nefarious and egregious spirits that cause trouble.
The Duppy Share is distilled in the Caribbean by fourth generation rum masters before being shipped to London for bottling. The blend features bold, tropical fruit flavors from a fine three year old Jamaican rum balanced by smooth, oaky notes of an exceptional five year old Bajan rum, matured in American oak bourbon barrels to impart a golden hue and add subtle oaky, caramel flavors.
Designed as a premium rum to be sipped straight or enjoyed on the rocks, this spirit also works well in cocktails that are complimented by a rich, full bodied aged rum with bold notes of tropical fruit, baking spices and buttery caramel.
The producers suggest The Duppy Share is a great rum for creating tropical punch recipes to be enjoyed at social gatherings and rooftop parties during the summer months.
A well designed bottle complements the fine taste of The Duppy Share blend, with an evocative label design inspired by 1930s travel posters.
The Westbourne Drinks Company is a new business founded in London by Rum Adventurer George Frost and start-up guru Jessica Swinfen. Before launching The Duppy Share, Jessica was at Innocent Drinks for almost 10 years. One of the early members of the core team, she helped grow the company into the international brand it is today.
George flirted with the idea of starting a rum distillery in London. Fleetingly. That was before visiting the Caribbean distilleries. That was before meeting the custodians of real rum — the master producers whose skills have been handed down through family-owned businesses for generations. That was before realizing that it’s the American oak barrels in the Caribbean climate that are key to aging fine rum.
At 40% abv, The Duppy Share launched exclusively into Selfridges in 70cl bottles for £37.99.
