The first ever Cayman Islands rum festival took place at Sandbar in George Town on Saturday, 16 Aug. with owner Brice Reid saying he hoped it would take place every year.
“It’s our inaugural event, timed to coincide with National Rum Day,” said Reid, referring to the annual US-originated observance.
“We’re very much hoping that it’s going to be an annual event, which will continue to grow, showcasing different brands that people here on island have not yet experienced.”
Rum from across the Caribbean
The event featured rum from Jamaica, Cuba, Bermuda and Dominican Republic with brands including Wray & Nephew, Havana Club, Goslings Rum, Appleton Estate and Brugal.
There was no rum from the Cayman Islands, explained Reid, because the event was co-produced with Jacques Scott, so only products in the Jacques Scott portfolio were available.
“We have six different cocktail stations, and then we have six rum-inspired food dishes to pair with it,” said Reid, “so people can come and sample all the different rums and then sample the six dishes inspired by them.”
Food offerings included rum-smoked chicken skewers, conch fritters with rum-cream jerk mayo, and rum-and-raisin ice cream.
“Rum is at the heart of the culture of the Caribbean,” Reid said. “When pirates and the sail ships were going out to sea, they found that ship rum was more sought after than the land rum, because the rum moving around in the barrels brought out the flavour.”
Husband-and-wife team John and Diane Borman had just flown in from Cincinnati, Ohio, that morning and were busy trying out the different cocktails and food dishes on offer. The pair own a timeshare condo on Seven Mile Beach and have been visiting the Cayman Islands for the past 30 years.
“The food portions were a really good size and the cocktails were also a good size,” John said. “Plus it’s great not having to queue. But we think that they probably priced it too high and would have had a better crowd if it had been $50 for three drinks and three food portions, rather than $100 for six of each.”
Emcee for the evening was Marlon Campbell from Jamaica, who said, “I love this idea and it’s the first year, so I’m really excited to set the precedent for this for future years. Maybe we’ll even settle the argument about which is the best rum.”
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