Above: The Peter John Sugar Cane Rum Bar at Coconut Bay in St Lucia (CJ Photo)

We’ve written much in these pages celebrating the “rum bar.”

Not to be confused with your standard Caribbean bar that serves rum, a rum bar is one that is dedicated to celebrating the world of rum, focusing on rums from across the Caribbean and emphasizing the diversity of the spirit.

Finding a true rum bar isn’t easy, but more and more such bars are popping up.

But until now, there’s never really been one at an all-inclusive Caribbean resort. Sure, at a given Caribbean all-inclusive you can typically find great local rums on offer — but it’s almost always limited to the rums of a single island.

But the new rum bar at the all-inclusive Coconut Bay Resort and Spa in St Lucia has achieved just that: an all-inclusive rum bar: that means free, unlimited rums from across the region.

It’s called the Peter John Sugar Cane Rum Bar, dubbed “Rums of the Caribbean.”

It’s part of what rum expert Walter Copasso says is an emphasis on offering guests a wide-ranging rum experience.

For now, there are at least 30 rums on offer from around the region (from St Lucia’s local Chairman’s Reserve to global classics like Angostura 1919 and El Dorado 12), with plans for a significant increase, particularly from the neighbouring island of Martinique.

Above: Coconut Bay

And the resort also informed Rum Journal of plans to stock its adjacent duty-free shop with many of the bar’s high-end offerings, meaning you can taste to your liking then walk a few steps out of the bar and purchase the rum you just tried.

It’s a wonderful, refreshing idea for the all-inclusive sector — and one that could turn this bar into a rum destination in its own right.

— CJ