A Taste Of The Caribbean In A Glass
If I asked you to guess what was the best-selling spirit in Britain over the past year, I bet I know what you’d say.
Go on, hazard a guess.
Nope, not gin! It was in fact rum. Rum! I know. You thought it was only loved by grog swilling pirates and Malibu swigging teenagers who have not yet learnt any better.
But thanks to the enormous popularity of Mohito cocktails there has been a huge surge in sales of rum up and down the country.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the sugary hen night favourite – although I once interviewed a very famous WAG who was unable to pronounce Mohito with her strong Scouse accent, so ended up asking our waiter for “the one with all the leaves” – but as it turns out there is much MUCH more that can be done with good old rum.
And so, when the three clever lads who make up Skylark Spirits offered to whip me up a Rum Negroni, a Rum Bellini and even a Rum and Tonic I was too intrigued to resist.
Turns out, these chaps are on to something with the highly unusual fruity rums they have imported from all over the Caribbean, and managed to swiftly transport us from a room in Covent Garden to the beach bars of Haiti, via Guadeloupe and back again thanks to some show-stopping flavour combinations.
Mythically known as the nectar of the gods, hand-picked chunks of fresh guava are packed into every bottle of Rhum Damoiseau’s Pink Guava Les Arranges, making it absolutely yummy whether it’s served neat, topped up with tonic, added to vermouth for an unconventional Negroni, or simply perking up a prosecco.
To further showcase the long-standing tradition of bottling tropical fruit with rum (and what a marvellous tradition that is), we also eagerly sampled the mango and passion fruit version which was equally delish.
As Britain’s bars begin to open up again, there is much to celebrate as Skylark are also bringing us another true taste of Haiti with Saint Benevolence Run Clairin, a strong smoky spirit that will knock your socks clean off – but all in a good cause.
Every sip of Saint Benevolence Rum directly funds life-changing medical services, educational programmes and economic developments to benefit the people and communities of Northern Haiti.
Why not seek out these fabulously exotic new arrivals to the cocktail scene, and do some good along the way. What’s not to love?
