Barbados TravelAdvisor

Now, dh and I have ventured into a couple of these places but not sure whether we should be there or not???

Any advise and which ones to visit please? What about inland too?

Many thanks

Gem

WE have a rum shop on our road 1st Street Holetown. called TML ( or the One Love Bar ) It's a house so you can't go in, but you can sit outside and we often sit with the locals and share a rum .

There's the "Watering Hole" at the west end of the gap. Helena, the owmer, welcomes all. There's usually a mix of local/tourist. I do agree that some of the shops look dicey.

Put it like this ....except for the ''tourist'' bars if you were a local enjoying a quiet drink would you want tourists in your local?

Thanks Turfie

We have often driven by but werea little worried to venture in!!!

January - One Love here we come!

Gem

Cheers Bassman

I will make a note of the Watering Hole. Have to say we "did a runner" on a few places!

Gem

Well, to be honest JTD, we don't actually have a local living miles from anywhere!

Yes, I can agree with what you are saying but we do like to mix with the locals and make friends. We have Bajan friends of many years standing. However, we did just pull up at some "rummies" and though "oh oh get out fast"!

Gem
(from Surrey, UK and not from Canada!!!)

Some time ago some of our usual group (pissed) went into a local rum shop ..the place went deadly quiet..so one of our lot said loudly ..."the trouble with you West Indians is....you are all f***ing crap at cricket".....even deadlier silence ...then absolute uproarious laughter as they all agreed!!

I can recommend the Watering Hole too. Helena is brilliant...all 4 foot of her. There is usually a karaoke night on thursdays so it get quite full. Buy your rum by the bottle. Much cheaper than buying several shots
There is another rum shack at the other end of the Gap called Braddy's. That is also quite safe. Braddy's daughter is a lawyer and she actually did some of her training over here in England in the courts in my local town....small world!

Many thanks Carol - yes we knew it was cheaper to buy by the bottle
- hic!!!

Gem

I have never been to a "rum shack" or "rum shop" before. What exactly is a rum shop and do they sell spirits other than rum? I guess my real question, what is it culturally? The only place I've been outside of a front line restaurant/bar or hotel restaurant/bar on the island, is a neat little local place in Speightstown and had lunch once at "Brown Sugar" in Bridgetown.

From http://www.life-n-styles-barbados.com/barbados-rum-shop.html

Visit a Barbados rum shop or two, for an exciting taste of Bajan culture.

Stopping by any local rum shop in Barbados, you can observe the colourful use of Bajan dialect , traditional games and try Bajan food.


Discuss Hot Topics
Friends and strangers from all social and ethnic backgrounds gather at rums shops across the island.

Barbados rum shops form a forum for interesting conversation on “hot topics”. Passionate points of views on social and political affairs, in Barbados and other parts of the world, to the more personal situations of the people present, their love life, work etc. come alive in rum shops.

A stop at John Moore’s bar in St. James was a pleasant visit Kris and I met jovial Barbadians, who are now retired.

On our visit, they talked about local entertainment, the world wars of their time and the wars of our time and the then political party in power in Barbados.

Everyone speaks freely and very passionately in most rum shops. Faint of hearing? Sometimes the language used is rated 'R'.

While at John Moore's Bar we mentioned that we were on an island tour around Barbados to capture experiences for this website, and a few people wanted to say hello.

Rum and Food

John Moore’s bar serves up delicious Bajan food(including pudding and souse).

Most rum shops in Barbados sell local snacks and or Bajan delicacies, along with the drinks shown in the photo above.

Visiting a Barbados rum shop may be a good time for you to try some local Banks beer, ESA Fields, Mount Gay Extra Old rum or Cockspur Five Star. Mount Gay is a popular rum and Cockspur is widely appreciated for its premium taste . Overall, the liquor in rum shops is cheaper than most places.

Barbados rum is purchased by the bottle, with ice and chasers of choice, usually coke, soda water, coconut water or plain water.

At John Moore’s bar, Kris ordered a rum and Coke, I opted for rum with coconut water. We had a really good time.

In the photo on this page you may notice: A half empty bottle of coconut water, soda water, a near empty bottle of Mount Gay rum, and an empty bottle of Johnnie Walker Black.


How to Find a Barbados Rum Shop

There is a common saying, “there are as many rum shops as there are churches in Barbados”. Trust me, when I tell you that, there are endless rum shops you can choose to visit.

You can find a rum shop any part of the island, in any village. These shops are small bars, often wooden structures, attached to people’s houses, though more wall structures of rum shops are becoming present.

I chose to visit John Moore’s Bar partially on a whim but Kris had been there before, commenting that it is a really good bar and popular hang out spot.


When to Visit a Barbados Rum Shop

Anytime Really-- Rum shops in Barbados open during the day and night, but for a truly lively cultural experience, visit in the evenings after work hours or on weekends.

When you have time -- There is nothing called a fifteen minute visit to a rum shop, unless you visit at a quiet time. In the mist of its lively culture, even if you intended to keep your visit short, the vibe is known to draw you in and most likely you will want to stay much longer.

A quick stop on our road trip at John Moore’s Bar turned in to a welcoming two hour visit. Everyone was warm and embracing, urging us to return again. And so we did…

…To Celebrate-- the owner’s Birthday, there were lots of people to mingle with and lots of heated discussions. Some were even playing traditional games of dominoes, hearts, draught and warri.

You can also meet some interesting people and make lasting connections of your own to staying in touch with Barbados.



Visit these Barbados Rum Shops
After a really charming time at this rum shop in Barbados, I sat down with my Uncle Henderson, to come up with some more rum shops where you are likely to have a fantastic time drinking fine Barbados rums, consuming Bajan cuisine and taking in this aspect of Barbados culture.

Our humble recommendations:

Alexine Bar- Oistins, Christ Church (just behind the fish vendor stalls)

John Moore’s Bar– Reids Bay, St. James (next to the Western Fish Facility)

Saw Bar- Westbury road, St. Michael (connecting road from Baxter’s road)

Mustard Bar- Bridgetown, St.Michael

Pink Star– Baxter’s Road, St. Michael

You can hire a Barbados rental car and visit these rum shops on your own. The Island Safari rum shop tour is also a lot of fun. On this tour you'll visit rum shops at the best times.


From our rum shop tours we wanted to share our favorite out of the Barbados rum we came across, nice blends with great flavour! So here are our favourite Barbados rums. http://www.life-n-styles-barbados.com/barbados-rum.html

Another bit of useful information from http://www.funbarbados.com/Activities/indexrumshops.html

Things to know when in a Rum Shop:

* They aren't any 'no smoking' rum shops in Barbados.
* The local alcoholic beverages of choice are 'Mount Gay Rum'/ 'Banks Beer' / 'ESA Fields'
* Rum sizes by bottle are: 'mini' � small / 'flask' � medium / 'pint & half' - large
* 'Chaser' is the choice of drink used after a 'straight shot' of rum or to mix with it. (Usually water or coke)
* To "fire one" means to have a drink.
* Local pastries are turn-overs, jam-puffs, rock cakes, lead-pipes, coconut bread, pone
* 'Cutters' are salt bread (rolls) with meats, cheese or eggs in them. (Somewhat like a sandwich)
* Salt bread are like buns or rolls but a bit tougher
* Rum comes white or brown in colour
* Rum is used to celebrate every occasion in Barbados
* All foods are eaten with local pepper sauce (if you can handle the heat)
* Fish cakes are made with salt fish (cod fish)
* There are no fancy trimmings with drinks like umbrellas, cherries or anything of the sort.
* Pudding & souse is made from every part of the pig, from snout to feet. (a bit hot with red peppers but very tasty)

is the Absolute Bar (as we call it) the same rum shop as the Watering Hole?
Top end of the gap accross the road from Coast bar (as was)

We have been in here quite a few times - warm welcome everytime - also later in the evening they have had quite a large crowd outside the bar as well

yes it is one and the same. The name of the place is the watering hole, but I think the building must have been sponsored or painted as a advertisement by absolut vodka hence the other name