Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival

Nice lady who poured my multiple servings of Kaiso Chocorange

$10 US for an afternoon of food, music, and rum sampling? Count us in! The festival, held at the Grenada Cultural Centre near Grand Anse, wasn’t huge, but it was a lot of fun. As part of a van-load of cruisers, we arrived as it opened (2 pm). It was pretty quiet, some of the booths still setting up, but the pace picked up nicely. Outside was a stage where several bands played throughout the afternoon and evening. There was also a cooking demonstration by local culinary students, with free samples of several dishes, including Flaming Beef Teriyaki Kabob, Flaming Chicken La Grenade, Beer-Batter Coconut Shrimp, Rum Cake, and Rum Balls. All of the dishes were, of course, made with rum or beer, and were absolutely delicious! There was also a vendor selling BBQ chicken legs and pork, which helped to set us up before our rum tasting. So, inside…  Booths were set up, each with a different distiller. Countries represented were Barbados, Guyana, and Surinam, not the usual representatives when you think of rum. But boy, do they make good rum! Of course, there was also the Grenadian distiller Clarkes Court, which is just down the road from our anchorage in Clarkes Court Bay. And one U.S. representative with a few small-distillery products. Some highlights? Blue Chair Bay is out of New York, rums devised mixed in Barbados for Kenny Chesney. Now, I’m not much for country music, but I’ve got to say that the Spicy Coconut Rum was fantastic! Clarkes Court Coconut Rum was also great – not too sweet, with an intense coconut flavor. The 12-year-old El Dorado rum was so smooth it just evaporated on my tongue when I took a sip. Katso Chocorange was a chocolate-orange rum liquor that tasted like melted ice cream with a kick. Now, I know this will sound weird, but I went crazy over the Nutz’ n Rum, a peanut – yes, you read that right, peanut – rum liquor. They made a great two-layer shot called the Beer Nut, with Nutz’ n Rum on the bottom, and 10 Saints Beer (from Barbados) on top. Chris did the El Dorado age progression – 5-year, 8-year, and  12-year rums – to experience the difference that aging makes. His also really liked the Lord Boar from from Barbados. To top it off, we bought a chocolate Tortuga rum cake, made in Grand Cayman. Fun time!

Chefs of the future serving their delicious food

Contestants with their signature drinks

Full Moon Dinghy Raft-Up

Last week was the dinghy concert, this week was the dinghy raft-up for the full moon in Mount Hartman Bay. It was a beautiful night, very calm. Add in new friends, guitar music, and a terrific cat from the boat Music who loves to ride in the dinghy. The cat came over to our dinghy to visit, but was scared back home when the dinghy shifted and a plastic plate with a couple of pieces of Mexican quiche fell on its head. No problem getting home to Clarkes Court Bay with the incredibly bright moon lighting the way.

 

What an Evening!

One thing Chris and I have found lately is that, with all the writing/editing to be done on our various projects, we just don't get out much. We're making up for it this week. Last night we dinghyed over to Roger's Beach Bar, on Hog Island (southern coast of Grenada) to meet up with friends and listen to a band composed of a French couple (he's on keyboards and she's on sax), and two guitarists (one American, one Brit). They played such good blues and jazz, you might have thought you were in New Orleans. This afternoon, we dinghyed one bay over to a dinhgy concert. This band, Crispy Fried Jacks, with members from Grenada and Switzerland, were fantastic. It rained just before the concert, no one really cared as all the dinghys rafted up and people sipped their beer and wine while gazing at the double rainbows, then the beautiful post-rain clouds. Coming home was a race, as storm clouds were coming in again. Did you ever see Jurassic Park II, when all the jeeps are chasing the dinosaurs? That's kind of what it felt like with all the dinghys racing for home (except, of course, that we were on the water and there were no dinosaurs. Details, details!). Tomorrow night, we head out for the rotisserie chicken dinner at Whisper Cove Marina. I feel so decadent!