Above: Caribbean Liquors in St Maarten (all photos by CJ)

ST MAARTIN — For rum lovers, St Maarten is one of the Meccas of the Caribbean.

That’s because, as one of its transportation hubs, rums from all over the region make their way here, from the rhums agricoles of Martinique and Guadeloupe to lesser-known varieties from islands like St Lucia. That’s without mentioning some of the specialty rums peculiar to the island like the famous Guavaberry rums.

So on a recent visit to the island, Rum Journal worked on a well-sourced tip to find the perfect place to procure some of the rarer rums of the region.

It led us to Caribbean Liquors and Tobacco, located on WG Buncamper Road on the Dutch side of the island — and we were rather pleased.

The well-run shop was very well stocked, particularly with one of our favourites, Rhum HSE from Martinique.

But that wasn’t all: we found something else: a secret bar in the corner of the store, offering the chance to order some of the rums you can buy only a few inches away.

A rum bar inside of a rum shop?

The afternoon looked like it would be a bit longer than anticipated.

— CJ