Entertaining Like A Rum Connoisseur

The weekend before last, while entering the belly of a dry moat encompassing three 200 plus year old forts: Fort Charlotte, Fort D’Arcy and Fort Stanley, it dawned on me how unconventional my island existence really is. Then again, the reason for such a passing thought could’ve been because I was about to sip my way through 40 plus Caribbean rums, in 80 degree heat, in the middle of February. You see, I was attending Festival Rum Bahamas; the first of its kind to be staged in New Providence, the capital of The Bahamas, the island I also call home. While I’d never think of myself as a rum connoisseur, but more of a social sipper of the sugar cane based liqueur, by the close of the three-day festival I felt I acquired a great deal of knowledge. Enough, in fact, to inspire me to entertain like a seasoned rum connoisseur.

1. Lay your dining table with carpenter paper and host your own rum competition. Of course, on a far smaller scale than the one hosted by Festival Rum Bahamas, deep inside Fort Charlotte, where 50 Caribbean rums were judged by the International Rum Council in a total of 5 categories. At our dinner we included, gold medal winner – Plantation 3 Star rum, and silver medal winner – John Watling’s Pale rum. See the winners in all categories here.

2. Impress your guests by pairing rum and food in the kitchen. On the Saturday evening of Festival Rum Bahamas we attended an interactive rum and food-pairing with Chef Geoffrey Blythe, creator of Rum & Contemporary Cuisine, a downloadable e-Cookbook and video series. The 40 recipes found on the app offer heaps of inspiration.

3. Offer a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. Amongst a table laden with candles I included J.A.B. “Sugar Cane” rum from here. Around the neck of each I placed a name tag that would encourage guests to take their designated seats. I chose the 250ml bottle for its size, as I wanted it to double as a favour for guests.

4. Like a true rum connoisseur, ignite all the senses. We filled the air with Biggity Rum Therapy Candles, as purchased at Festival Rum Bahamas on the Micro Business Pavilion. I would not recommend burning these at a dinner party for the scent would rival with the one seeping from the kitchen, and later from your guests’ plates. Instead burn these at a rum and games night where enthusiasm for each are flowing in equal measure.

5. Serve a speciality cocktail to guests. While Events by Alexandra, the creators and visionaries behind Festival Rum Bahamas, are keeping the recipe for the ‘Dirty Mule’, the festival’s signature cocktail, under lock and key, they, like most Bahamians, love to sip on a Rum Dum. Get the recipe here.

P.S. Photos by AndMarie