Rum Therapy Blog Archives | Page 30 of 47

October 7, 2013May 29, 2019

Mamajuana from the Dominican Republic

Rumored to have medicinal as well as aphrodisiac properties, we set out to find out more about Mamajuana during our recent visit to the Dominican Republic. We had actually heard, and even sampled Mamajuana at the Mt. Pellier Domino Club on St. Croix, where Norma is famous for her batches of Mamajuana, but apparently it actually originated from the Taino Indians in the Dominican Republic and is considered a native drink of the DR. Regardless, it is widely available in the DR and we sampled a good amount of it while there – for research purposes, of course…

Mamajuana is pronounced mama-whan-a, not mama-joo-whan-a as we were corrected numerous times! This powerful elixir is a mixture of red wine, honey and rum that is soaked in a bottle with twigs, bark, leaves and herbs. Different spices are sometimes used as well. Each bottle tastes a bit different, depending on the mixture and the amount of time spent soaking together.

Mamajuana is commonly consumed as a shot, but we also sampled several beverages made with Mamajuana, such as a Mamajuana Mojito and a Motokoncho (Mamajuana, DR Rum, vodka and cherries). Many Dominican Republic natives believe Mamajuana can cure many ailments, from the common cold and flu to more serious conditions and is widely touted as an aphrodisiac. We were told it was probably best to sample Mamajuana at our resort or a restaurant and not just a roadside stand to be safe.

We brought a bottle back with us, to enjoy a little more of the taste of the DR at home and to try to create some Mamjuana of our own. With proper care, the twigs, herbs and leaves found in the bottle can be re-used for a number of years to create more batches of Mamjuana.

Just wish we could have brought a little of this back with us as well…

Beautiful beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Have you tried Mamajuana?

To see more posts like this, check out our Island Blog Directory

Rum Recipes

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

October 1, 2013June 24, 2021

Great Fall Rum Recipes

Most of us probably prefer to enjoy our rum on a gorgeous warm and sandy beach somewhere in the tropics, but when the leaves AND temperatures begin to fall, we can still cook up some rumlicious recipes to warm us up on the inside. Enjoy the tastes of fall…and rum!

Gingerbread Rum Latte

Pumpkin and Spiced Rum Cupcakes

Rum Glazed Caramel Corn

Pumpkin Spiced Rum Cocktail

Pumpkin Rum Pie with Rum Flavored Whipped Cream

More Rum Recipes

Need suggestions on what rum to use? Check out our Rum Therapy Reader’s Choice Rum Picks!

September 27, 2013September 27, 2013

Survey Says….

We had such a great response to our recent Rum Therapy Survey and you gave us some fantastic feedback and suggestions – which will be very helpful as Rum Therapy continues to evolve! We thought we’d just highlight a few comments and answer a few of the questions asked.

1. Would like to see more on the Western Caribbean and Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Belize, Florida. etc.
We agree! Though we’ve visited many of these places already, our visits took place before digital pictures (and Rum Therapy) and we’d like to re-visit, re-photograph and make sure the information is fairly current before posting. So…it may be a while before we have them all covered – that is, of course, unless we get contacted by a travel company to partner with them….(hint!hint!)

2. “More out of the way places.” “Just keep including the out of the way and hidden gems”
These are our favorite kind of places, so we will definitely continue to try and discover and feature them, along with some of the areas that are more popular that people may want to check out.

3. Just keep the recipes coming and I’m all in!
No problem!

4. Not yet just waiting for more, you can’t do it all at once or it would be over, And I don’t want that to happen!
Kinda like those vacations that we all plan so hard for and look forward to!

5. I believe you cover a bit of everything a true rum bum needs to know regarding adult beverages and tropical locations that serve great adult beverages. :-)
Oh good! Thank you!

6. I think it will be cool if there was a place people could share their experiences at the places you guys suggest on your website!
Hmmm. That would be a good idea…

7. Be sure to add historical and legend information and context where you can. It adds color to already colorful destinations.
O.k. We’ll try to add more of that info when possible.

8. Restaurants and Shopping
We usually cover the bar/restaurant type of establishments, but will certainly cover other restaurants and shopping areas as we visit them.

9. “The Shop area…love to see more clothing & accessories.” “A bigger variety of merchandise in the store. You can never have too much Rum Therapy!” “Larger sizes for women”
We’ll be launching some brand new products soon – just in time for the holiday season!!

10. Maybe expand a little on Charter opportunities/companies so that folks can get around to all these beach bars and sample all the Rum!
We’ll definitely have more info for you on this after the Rum Therapy flotilla!

11. More local businesses…help promote the people who make the islands unique and support the culture.
Definitely.

12. Maybe add a resort that would take a percent off their price if we mention your site.
Resorts, hotels, condos, villas – contact us if you’d like to participate in a program like this. I think it’s a great idea!!

13 Excellent resource for our travel needs, daily therapy…
Yeah!! That’s what we like to hear!

14. Maybe showcasing bartenders at some of the awesome beach bars. They always seem to have interesting stories.
Fabulous. I think that would be a great addition to our “Making Your Tropical Obsession Your Profession” series. Know of a bartender with a great story about how they ended up at a tropical beach bar? Let us know!

15. Cant think of anything that you have overlooked, maybe some stories or info on the history of Rum and its production.
Yes, that would be good info to cover from time to time!

Even though the survey is over, we are always open to your ideas and suggestions. Contact us anytime to let us know what’s on your mind!

Cheers!

September 17, 2013September 17, 2013

Rum Therapy Reader’s Choice – Rum Picks

RUM.

We usually shy away from giving our recommendations on the “best” rums for mixing and the “best” rums for sipping, because, well, we’re simply not rum experts. We know what we like, but that doesn’t mean it’s “the best” for anything – we just like it! Although there are definitely better rums than others, rum tastes are still pretty subjective.

That being said, it is good to have some suggestions or options to begin with – especially when considering a purchase of an entire bottle that you’d like to be reasonably assured that you will want to finish! Recently we polled our wonderful Rum Therapy Facebook Friends on their favorite rums in 3 categories; light mixing, gold mixing and sipping. We figured it would be good to have a sampling of answers from a bunch of rum lovers and the following list is a compilation of those answers, which, as you can imagine, are all over the board! Are your favorites on the list?

For more advice, be sure to check out the websites of some of the wonderful rum experts out there, such as our friend Dave Russell of Rum Gallery or Robert Burr’s Rum Guide.

Cheers!

White Mixing Rums
Bacardi Superior
Cruzan Aged Light Rum
Mount Gay Silver
Blue Chair Bay White Rum
Don Q Cristal
Shellback Silver Rum
Siesta Key Silver
Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum
Havana Club 3 Años
Brugal Especial Extra Dry
Appleton White
Tommy Bahama White Sands
Margaritaville Silver Rum
Castillo Silver
Whaler’s Great White Rum
Coral Bay White Rum
Naked Turtle White Rum

Gold Mixing Rums
Mount Gay Eclipse
Bacardi Gold
Appleton V/X, Reserve or 12 Year
Cruzan Aged
Gosling’s Gold
Old Mill Gold Rum

Sipping Rums
Mount Gay Extra Old
Dos Maderas 5+3 and 5+5
Thomas Tew
Zaya
Brugal Anejo or Extra Viejo
Appleton 21 Year
Santa Teresa 1796
Prichard’s Fine Rum
Oronoco
Gosling’s Old Rum
Arundel 10 Year
Chairman’s Reserve – The Forgotten Cask
Shellback Spiced Rum
Rhum Barbancourt Five Star or Estate Reserve
Seven Fathoms
Pyrat XO Reserve
Sebastian’s
Ron Anejo Pampero Aniversario
Kirk and Sweeney 12 year
Ron Zacapa XO or 23
Flor de Caña Centenario 18 or 25
Ron del Barrilito 3 Star
El Dorado 15
Bacardi Oakheart
Sailor Jerry
Pusser’s
Captain Morgan Private Stock
Kraken
Bones
Seven Fathoms
RedRum

Need some rum cocktail recipes?

Rum Recipe Directory

Rum Recipes by Pictures

September 16, 2013May 29, 2019

Pinel Island, St. Martin

In the northern part of Orient Bay on the French side of St. Martin and just off the town of Cul de Sac, lies a small island called Pinel. Depending on who you talk to or the travel guide you read, Pinel Island can also be called Isle Pinel, Ilet Pinel, or Ile de Pinel.

We visited Pinel Island last year during a sail around St. Maarten/ St. Martin, but if staying on or visiting St. Martin, Pinel Island is very easily accessed by ferry from the town of Cul de Sac.

The day we visited, Pinel Island was very busy and the beach was much more crowded than we normally like and we hear that is really pretty normal for the small island – and many people obviously don’t mind the crowds! Even though we’d probably rather spend the day at a quieter beach somewhere, we still had fun and recommend a visit for the following reasons:

Pinel Island main beach has lovely soft sand and the water is clear and very calm. It’s a great area to bring the family to play in the water. You can also kayak over from St. Martin.

A short hike from the beach you can find a snorkel trail with decent snorkeling and we were told that snorkel equipment can be rented there.

If you continue up the trail from the snorkel trail and you’ll be treated to fantastic views of St. Martin and Orient Beach.

At the top of the trail you get a good look at the island of Tintamarre and if you look south, you may even catch a glimpse of St. Barths.

There are also a couple of more deserted beaches on Pinel that you can reach and explore via a short hike.

Umbrellas and chairs on the beach in front of Up on the Key Beach Bar/Restaurant

After your hike, you might want to head back down to sit under a beach umbrella and enjoy a frosty beverage. At the time of our visit, there were three beach bars/restaurants on Pinel: Karabuni, Up on the Key and Yellow Beach.

Karabuni Beach Bar/Restaurant. Known for it’s fresh Lobster

Yellow Beach Bar/Restaurant (located under the thatched roofs)

While writing this article, I found a FB link for Up on the Key that said the beach bar/restaurant was razed this past July amid some controversy (see article in The Daily Herald), so as of this writing, it looks as if Up on the Key is no longer located on Pinel Island. For those of you that have been there, it was the two story structure in between Karabundi and Yellow Beach. Too bad – they served up some good rum drinks and friendly conversation and I’m sure the beach looks quite different now.

Just a few more colorful images from our day of sun, fun and rum at Pinel Island, St. Martin…

Find Pinel Island on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map

To find more posts on St. Martin and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

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

September 14, 2013May 29, 2019

Colombier Beach, St. Barths

We haven’t gotten to visit all of the beaches on St. Barts…yet, but we were certainly impressed with a beautiful, hard to get to beach on the islands northwest tip called Colombier Beach. Accessible only by boat or by one of two challenging trails, this gorgeous beach is well worth the effort to get there.

Known by boaters for its calm anchorage and beautiful blue water, you may encounter a few boats (and yachts) at anchor, but probably very few people on the beach.

Colombier Beach is still called Rockefeller Beach by some because the land around it was for many years owned by David Rockefeller.

Besides the challenge of getting to Colombier Beach, one of the things that makes it different from the other beautiful St. Barts beaches is the unusual rock formations found on either end of the beach. Although rocky on either end, the middle of the beach is excellent for swimming with a nice bottom.

The way the water weaves in and around the rocks makes for some beautiful pictures. Snorkeling in the water around these rocks can be very good when the surf is calm.

We arrived by boat, so we thought we’d take the path partway to Flamands Beach to see what it was like.

The path was rugged and hugged the coast overlooking the north side of St. Barths. You can see Flamands in the picture below in the distance.

We turned around when the path got too steep and rocky to be crossed with our flip flops and headed back to Colombier Beach for more of this….

Colombier Beach has no amenities and very little shade (unless you find a pocket of shade among the rocks), so be sure to bring some food, drink (plenty of water) and sunscreen.

As the sun wore one, the color of the sand seemed to turn a beautiful gold color which was breathtaking against the vibrant blue water.

We left just a few more footprints in the sand, then dinghied back to the boat having enjoyed our day of seclusion and beauty on Colombier Beach.

Find Colombier Beach on our St. Barths Map

To see more posts on St. Barths and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

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

September 12, 2013June 5, 2019

A Tropical Music Escape with Joe Moorhead

I received an email recently from a lady named Karla with a link to a video she thought we might be interested in. The fresh island sound caught my attention and I quickly started singing along with the catchy lyrics “It’s a bad day in the islands”, bad day in the islands today, bad day in islands….today.” What the heck? A bad day in the islands? I began to wonder where this musician was going with the lyrics as the video played on and and as I watched, I began to spot some familiar places – Ivan’s, Foxy’s, White Bay and Saba Rock…

I emailed Karla to find out more about the band, the music and the video locations and found out a lot more. Joe Moorhead, who hails from the decidedly un-tropical city of Cleveland, has been around for a while and has amassed some serious fun loving music fans through his very busy tour schedule, his unique – but a bit Jack Johnson-ish sound and his original tropically flavored songs. Sounded like a great story for our “Making Your Tropical Obsession Your Profession” Series, so we sent him some more interview questions.

Check out the video for Bad Day yourself and see what locations you can spot – then read more about Joe Moorhead and his band in our interview below.

1. Can you give us a little background about yourself such as where are you from and when started getting interested in music?
I grew up outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Music has been a part of my life since I can remember. Listening to music started as a hobby with my Dad sharing the music of his days. That hobby has followed me all my life.

2. What is your musical background and are there other musicians that have been an inspiration to you?

Growing up, I took guitar lessons as a teen. I never looked at the guitar as something I would pursue professionally until I was in my early twenties. I had written some songs and friends started to push me to record a demo. After playing a few gigs and recording a demo, I fell in love with the business of music. I have never looked back since.

3. Coming from Ohio, where does your island vibe come from? Where do you get the inspiration for your music?

Most people laugh when I tell them I grew up around Cleveland, Ohio as my music portrays “island living”. I have spent a lot of time in the Caribbean islands and have traveled to island destinations across the world. There is no place I have found as beautiful as the USVI and BVI. That is were I truly get inspired and where I write most of the my music.

4. I love the video for both Bad Day and Ukalayme and see that some of the footage was shot on Jost Van Dyke and possibly Saba Rock?? Can you tell us more about the shoot locations and why you picked them?

Ukalayme was made from footage and pictures I had from years of traveling around the islands. The “Bad Day” video was a more produced video. After meeting the film director, Marcus Morelli, we talked about where we would travel to capture the story of the song “Bad Day”. There was no question that we had to get down to the islands where the story had taken place. We spent a week traveling the islands on my friend Brian’s boat. We filmed on St. Thomas, St. John, Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, etc. Everytime we thought it was a “wrap” we found another location that we had to capture. We really had no plan on exactly where we wanted to film, it all just came together as we bounced around the islands.

5. Is this a full time gig or do you do something else as well?
I feel very fortunate to say music is my only job. The old saying, “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” is very true for me. As music pays the bills, it also makes me happier then doing anything else.

6. Can you tell us about the rest of the band?

The band is more then just a group of musicians. They are all family. Jonny Morrow, lead guitar, has been my best friend since we were 10 years old. Tyler Lovell, bass player, has been in the band since it’s start. Justin Banks, drummer, is the newest member to the band but it feels like he has always been with us. There is no hierarchy in this band. Everyone has a voice and we make decisions as a whole on what are next steps are. On top of that, there isn’t a group of people I would rather live in a bus with.

7. It looks like you’ve got a pretty extensive tour schedule. How many night a year are you on the road?
Our goal is to tour and spread the music. We prefer to stay on the road as much as possible. I couldn’t tell you how many dates we play a year because our tour schedule is always growing. If we can get a gig we stay on the road.

8. Hopes for the future?
The only thing I can hope for the future is that we have the opportunity to still be playing music together as a band. My dreams come true everyday I get to wake up and play music. There isn’t much more I want than that.

9. What’s your favorite tropical destination and rum drink, or rum?
If I could be anywhere on this planet, it is Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke, BVI, drinking a “pain killer” made with Pusser’s Rum.

10. What islands are on your must see list?
There is a group of British islands called Tristan Da Cunha. They are considered the most remote islands in the world. I would love to sail to them someday. I guess the thought of that type of adventure is what intrigues me so much.

11. Is there anything else you’d like to let us know about you or your music?
We (the band) would just like to thank all our fans, friends, family, and Rum Therapy for the support. We all feel very lucky to have the opportunity to play music for a living. We hope everyone enjoys our new album, Tides Are Rising, and the videos that we will be releasing this year. Make sure to check out www.JoeMoorhead.com to see when we will be in a town near you.

Pictures courtesy of joemoorhead.com

Free download link for “Sunshine Driving”

Follow Joe on Facebook

Check out the tour schedule here

The video for Ukalayme by Joe Moorhead- recognize any of these spots?

Check out other posts in our “Making Your Tropical Obsession Your Profession” series

September 10, 2013May 29, 2019

Juggie’s Place, St. Maarten

While walking through Philipsburg, St. Maarten a couple of years ago, we came across a little – and I mean smaaaall bar with a sign above it saying “The Smallest Bar in the World”.

We pulled in to check it out and found that The Smallest Bar in the World is owned by a very nice man by the name of Juggie and that the bar is better known as Juggie’s Place.

We’d only been in one other bar before claiming that it was the smallest, and that happened to be The Smallest Bar in Key West. Yep, Juggie’s bar is even smaaaaller.

We ordered the special – two beers and a cigar for $2.99, grabbed on of the few seats in front of the bar and chatted with Juggie for a while. We ended up spending more time there than anticipated, sipping our beers and reading Juggie’s words of wisdom printed on brown paper and affixed to the front of the bar.

Is it truly the smallest bar in the world? No clue. Is it on a beautiful St. Maarten beach? No. It’s actually tucked in an alley behind the Big Wood Grill Beach Bar (on the boardwalk). Is it worth a stop? We sure thought so. Get a rum shot for $1.00, 2 beers & 1 cigar for $2.99 and spend some time chewing-the-fat with Juggie. Well, he words it just a little differently below… Priceless :)

Find Juggie’s Place(The Smallest Bar in the World) on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map

To see more posts on St. Maarten/St. Martin and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

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

September 4, 2013November 5, 2019

Tropical Vacation Packing List

As we prepare for an upcoming tropical trip, I started putting together a packing list – again. Then I thought it might be nice to have a sort of standard list that I could just print off each time and add to depending on the destination. The following is just that – a basic tropical vacation packing list. Just the general stuff here – you’ll need to add your own jammies and undies (if needed!), but this should cover some of the basics.

Are we missing anything vital? Let us know!

Basic Packing List for a Tropical Vacation
Swimsuits
Cover Ups
Tees
Shorts
Light Jacket
Cap or Visor
Sandals
Water Shoes
Other Clothing as Needed

Beach Bag or Backpack
(we use a SwissGear Blue Ibex 17″ Computer Backpack, 15″L x 10″W x 19″H)
Flask
Sunglasses
Towel
Sunscreen
After sun care – Aloe Vera
Lip care with sunscreen
Insect Repellant
Motion sickness medication
Pain Relievers
Toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, lotion or moisturizer, makeup, razor, fingernail files, brush, comb, hair accessories, etc…..

Beach Playlist
iPod
Waterproof Music Player
Cell Phone
Cameras
Memory Cards
Electronic Chargers
Extra batteries, if needed
Snorkel Equipment
Reading material
Deck of cards
Water bottle
Snacks

Passports and copies
Other ID
Credit Cards
Cash
Insurance cards
Itinerary
Reservation confirmations and phone numbers
Maps and guides
Small First Aid Kit
Travel Pillow
Earplugs
Emergency Contact List

Check here for Tropical Tips & More

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

September 3, 2013May 29, 2019

Mr. Busby’s Beach Bar, St. Maarten

Mr. Busby’s Beach Bar, St. Maarten is a laid back and fun beach bar with good food by day and an award winning Italian Food Restaurant called Daniels by the Sea at night.

Located on the east side of St. Maarten on beautiful Dawn Beach – close to the Oyster Bay Beach Resort, this bustling place is just barely on the Dutch side of St. Maarten.

Mr. Busby’s sits on beautiful Dawn Beach and you can rent the beach chairs that sit in front of the bar. Food and drink can be ordered directly from your chair on the beach, making it even easier to relax and enjoy the St. Maarten sunshine…

From Mr Busby’s you can even see St. Barths in the distance (very faintly in the center of the picture)

Swimming is good on calm days and there’s plenty of room to walk the long beach.

We enjoyed spending an afternoon at Mr. Busby’s and think it’s worth a stop if in the area for lunch – or a fine Italian dinner, good rum beverages and some quality St. Maarten beach time.

Find Mr. Busby’s Beach Bar on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map

To see more posts on St. Maarten/St. Martin and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

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