The task was equally tempting and daunting. A seductively lit wall of three dozen different flavors of “bush rum” with color and variety to surpass Baskin-Robins: tropical fruits like pineapple, orange and passionfruit; mysterious local herbs and spices like chook chook and pueve; and truly bizarre-looking concoctions like avocado and “tobac zombie.
At nearly every bar in the small island nation , you’ll find Bush Rum—bottles of overproof rum from local distilleries infused with just about every herb and fruit that grows on the island. The tradition stems from the use of herbs for medicinal purposes—they were combined with the rum as a sort of tincture to cure a variety of ailments. So just about every bush rum comes with recommended medicinal effects.
The resort’s assistant general manager Ali Kandag built his new hotel bar around this Dominica tradition with recipe suggestions from locals and rum made right on the island. Like many homes and businesses on Dominca, Macoucherie Distillery was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017, but is back producing rum from sugar cane using a hydro-powered press.
The result is a gorgeous display of 36 different infusions of a 96-proof barrel-aged Macoucherie rum, each aged for a couple of weeks . The variety and novelty makes for a tremendously fun drinking experience. And over the course of three nights last week, with much encouragement from both friends and staff, I became the first guest to taste them all. Here’s what I learned.The passion fruit on Dominica is excellent, and this translates well to both daiquiris and bush rum.
I left Dominica with a bottle of Macoucherie and plenty of ideas to recreate my own Bush Rum back in the States. If you’re in Dominica or one of the neighboring islands where the tradition has spread, I highly recommend you try a few flavors. Or, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, 37.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: enews - 🏆 466. / 52 Read more »
Source: etnow - 🏆 696. / 51 Read more »
Source: Eater - 🏆 368. / 59 Read more »
Source: StyleCaster - 🏆 104. / 63 Read more »
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »
Source: enews - 🏆 466. / 52 Read more »