A Must-Visit Rum Shop in the Caribbean’s Leeward Islands!
I’m sure I’m not alone in routinely thinking about vacationing in the Caribbean with a tasty rum beverage in my hand. If you’re like me, thinking about the Caribbean leads to a mental picture of a bygone era – a wooden sailing ship with barrels of rum on deck, anchored in a secluded bay of a beautiful island oasis. If you agree, the next time you’re in the Leeward Islands, you need to find your way to Nevis.
It would be no surprise that you’ve never heard of the small Caribbean Island of Nevis before. If you have, you probably know it as the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the USA. The federation of St. Kitts & Nevis is in fact the tops of a submerged volcanic mountain range located between the US Virgin Islands and Antigua. Personally, I knew of the island because of my interest to hike its main geographical feature, Nevis Peak. Well, fresh off my first visit to the island, I can tell you that Nevis should also be on your radar for being home to what might be one of the best little rum shops in the world.
If you’re a rum enthusiast vacationing in St. Kitts or just stopping by while on a cruise, I highly recommend taking the short boat ride over to Nevis – It will make your day! Just a 4-minute walk up from the Charlestown ferry terminal you will find a little store on Prince William Street called L&L Rum Shop. This place is a rum lover’s dream come true. It’s not a huge store, so I appreciated how neat and organized the shop is, making full use of available space for as much rum as possible. Upon entering the shop I made a beeline to the rum/ron/rhum sign hanging in the back, where I was happy to find 2 walls packed with nothing but rum – I felt like a kid in a candy store!
Saying they are well stocked with a wide variety of the Caribbean’s liquid treasure would be an understatement. L&L Rum Shop carries spirits from iconic Islands with rich histories of rum-making like Barbados and Jamaica as well as those famous for fine rhum agricole, such as Martinique, Guadeloupe and Haiti. There’s rum from all over the Caribbean, including Saint Lucia, Antigua and the Dominican Republic. Of course, they also carry Guyana’s quality elixir, but they also have rums from such unlikely sources as Australia, Madeira, South Africa and India as well. In fact, L&L Rum Shop contains over 200 unique labels of rum/rhum from distilleries all over the world. This would make it the best storefront, or bar for that matter, in terms of rum selection, that I’ve ever seen!
One of the things that really intrigued me was the Shop’s collection of special series rums. You would expect them to have several of the famous Plantation rums, which they do, however they also offer much harder to find rums from The Ministry of Rum, the Trans Continental Rum Line (from France’s La Maison du Whisky) as well as a unique South African sugarcane-based rum called Mhoba.
If you’re lucky (or better yet, call ahead), the store’s proprietor will be there when you visit. Rum connoisseurs will find one of their own in Mark Theron. Mark and I happily discussed some of our mutually favourite rums before he introduced me to several brands and rum tasting characteristics that I was not even aware of. If you’re relatively new to rum, don’t be intimidated by Mark’s vast knowledge and experience with rum, he’s just the guy to help you get started on your own personal rum-loving journey. Here’s the thing – Believe it or not, Mark will offer a sample of pretty much any rum in the shop to help you decide on what bottle(s) to take home with you. That’s right, L&L Rum Shop provides access to a couple of hundred rums to sample. WoW – I can see how that could lead to a fun tasting session for serious rum aficionados!
For my visit, Mark helped me explore Martinique’s rhum agricole with a couple of samples, although I have to admit I have yet to develop an appreciation for the lighter, yet complex sugarcane-based drink. We also sampled Nevis’ own (soon to be famous?) Clifton Estate Spiced Rum. For a relatively young rum, it was surprisingly delicious. First of all, the rum is presented in a clever and unique bottle shaped like a barrel – how cool is that?! The rum has a rich golden colour with an appetizing scent of cinnamon, nutmeg and candied orange. I found that Clifton Estate Spiced Rum gently tingled on my tongue with warm spices and a touch of honey. With little burn, even my non-drinking wife liked it! Knowing I can’t get this at home, I picked up a couple of bottles to add to my personal collection, although I don’t think they’ll last long 😊. Mark recommends Clifton Estate Spiced Rum be drunk straight, with a splash of coconut water or alternatively with a drop of orange bitters in a rum and coke. They all sound good to me.
Once I left the rum section, I realized that L&L sells more than just rum. They also offer a full selection of liquor, Cuban (and other) cigars, as well as wines from all over the world, with a deserved focus on France. After all, the L&L in L&L Rum Shop stands for Libations & Leaf you know. While we’re on the subject of stuff other than rum, something in the shop really unique caught my eye.
Proudly displayed on the main counter was another Clifton Estate Nevis original – NEVIQ Tropical Liqueur, and it’s really something to see! The bright blue concoction contains an intriguing swirling silver shimmer and tastes like well, tropical fruit. NEVIQ will forever remind me of snorkeling in St. Kitts & Nevis as just the day before, I had been mesmerized by the refracted sunbeams on the rippled sand bottom of the shallow Caribbean Sea. NEVIQ captures that image perfectly.
Now I’m not one to spread rumours, but I hear that L&L Rum Shop also has a cannabis-infused wine ready to hit the shelves once the righteous plant becomes fully legal in St. Kitts & Nevis.
It was clear that Mark is well connected, so I was not too surprised to hear that he also has his hand in the Clifton Estate brand producing several innovative and unique products from Nevis. Find out more by reading our Clifton Estate Rum blog.
I’m sure you would agree that discovering L&L Rum Shop on a tiny island in the Eastern Caribbean is a pleasant surprise. So… If you’re on a quest to find some unique rum or simply looking for a quality mixer, L&L Rum Shop likely has what you’re after. Besides, every visitor to Nevis should take the opportunity to bring a tasty piece of the Caribbean home with them!
FYI – You can reach Nevis from St. Kitts via the public ferry terminal in Basseterre, or by water taxi from Cockleshell Bay (AKA Reggae Beach). For more information on L&L Rum Shop, check out their facebook pages L&L Rumshop and Mark’s Rum Tasting. To contact the store in advance of your visit, reach out to Mark at lnlrumshop@gmail.com or call 1-869-661-0627.
If you’re interested in reading more about rum, check out our Caribbean Rum page and our St. Kitts & Nevis Rum page.
For an overview of the beautiful “Sister islands”, take a look at our St. Kitts & Nevis Vacations page
For other great Tourist Attractions on the islands, check out our Things to Do in St. Kitts & Nevis blog
If you’re looking for more ‘active’ things to do while vacationing in St. Kitts & Nevis, click on our SKN Adventures blog post for some great ideas!
ACT Staff
