Trinidad / Rum

Whilst eating out has become ever more popular, drinking is still something of an avocation in Trinidad, especially during the numerous national and religious holidays outside of the Carnival and Christmas seasons and rum is a fundamental part of it. Though Barbadian and Jamaican brands like Mount Gay and Appleton are marketed in England, Trinidad’s favourite Old Oak and Vat 19 have a lower profile - specifically, the Trini will gladly inform you, “because we drink it all we self ”. It really is all a matter of taste, and no self respecting Trini would be seen dead imbibing rum produced in another island. Not in public anyway. There are fewer rum shops today certainly, the place for working class men to banter and set the world to rights (loudly) over quantities of liquor, but they still perform a community function in remoter country areas and in downtown Port of Spain where 75% alcohol puncheon rum is the regular tipple.

Most rums are 43% and Fernandes Black Label is another popular brand though Angostura 19 is a splendid aged dark rum, fairly pricey but worth it for the connoisseur (a well aged premium dark rum can be compared to a good quality brandy). Generally speaking, white rum is for the hard core drinker rather than a sophisticated palate and also comes with a raging hangover if you haven’t gauged your resistance. Mixing rum with other liquids is seen as sacrilege in some quarters, defiling the very essence of the spirit, but usually it’s a necessary accompaniment for the moderate toper.

Rum punches always seem to have that something extra in Trinidad, possibly because they do, in the form of the divine Angostura bitters, created by German surgeon JGB Siegert blending South American herbs and spices back in 1824, and taking the name Angostura from the Venezuelan town where revolutionary Simon Bolivar set up camp. The recipe is more closely guarded than the Crown jewels, and deserves to be. The Angostura factory and distillery in Laventille, Port of Spain, is an illuminating diversion for any fan of rum.

In country areas you may well come across characters offering bush rum, also referred to as mountain dew or babash. It’s illegal home-made cane spirit, similar to the fire water Jack Iron produced in Grenada, so consume this at your peril, despite the seller’s blandishments. An instant searing headache lasting for hours is not uncommon.