Mount Gay Rum

Another great thing about traveling to the Caribbean is that every island has it's own rum factories. As a result reasonably priced rums are usually easily found and consumed by me. The big local rum manufacturer in Barbados is Mount Gay Rum. It has a name that would certainly have Beavis and Butthead snickering, but this line of rum is nothing to laugh at.

We were in Barbados for only a week, so one bottle was all I required. I chose the Sugar cane Brandy, which was a stronger, bolder rum that was 86 proof (43% alcohol), higher than the usual 40% of most rums.

Since our room wasn't equipped with a blender I was limited to what I could do with it. I made my own rum punch, rum and coke, rum and water, and rum and pineapple, and finally rum on the rocks (to be chased by a bottle of Banks Beer). I did have a couple mixed drinks: Pina Colada, and a Mudslide. No matter where you go in the world, Pina Coladas are the same. But in the US and in the Caribbean, there are different ideas regarding what a Mud Slide is. In the US, a Mudslide is a vanilla milkshake with ground up malted milk balls, chocolate syrup and vodka. In the Caribbean it's a chocolate milkshake laced with rum.

You can find Mount Gay Rum in local liquor stores. I know that several local booze shops carry it here in NY. For the price here, I don't think it's worth it. It's a good rum, but not extraordinary. But when you're in Barbados, and it's the only game in town, it's not a disappointment.