Rum, the BVI and the Painkiller
I do enjoy rum. I don’t really enjoy other brown liquor but I do enjoy rum. Used as a base for a mix drink or for something more simple, I enjoy the molasses flavor and the vibe that comes with it!
Having spent 10 years in the Royal Navy in the early part of my career I appreciate the links between rum and the Caribbean, and with the naval service. This link goes back to the mid 17th century when a Royal Navy fleet captured the island of Jamaica while operating against pirates and privateers. A by-product of the capture was ready access to sugar fields and large supplies of rum, so navy supply chiefs changed the sailors’ daily ration of french brandy to be a ration of rum instead.
The rum ration, watered down initially on a 50/50 basis but ultimately 2 parts water to 1 part rum was known in the service as ‘grog’ and was issued daily to sailors until 31st July 1970. At that time the ration was an eighth of a pint of grog per man per day - it had been as much as a pint daily in the past! I guess they thought grog was becoming incompatible with managing complex weaponry at sea!
The connection with the BVI is really all about Pusser's Rum. Since an agreement in 1979 this brand was allowed to use the name Pusser's, a word generally associated with things that the Royal Navy use, and the White Ensign, the flag of the Royal Navy. Since then Pusser's and the BVI have kept the link with the naval tradition of Rum alive.
You can’t talk about rum in the BVI without talking about the Painkiller. This drink, initially dreamt up at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke in the early 80s, can be made as strong as you like, but the base is typically 4 parts pineapple, 1 part OJ and 1 part cream of coconut, and to this you add 2, 3 or 4 parts rum, depending on your constitution, with ground nutmeg on top. A blender helps to mix in the cream of coconut. You can’t go too far wrong and countless drinkers at the Soggy Dollar Bar and other places would agree!
Anyway - enough of me talking about this. Get down to the BVI and try out the drink for yourself! How do you get there you ask? Easy - get in touch with me and charter Artemis for the week, and you will see what all the fuss is about!