By Alexander Britell
Increasingly, Caribbean hotels have begun acknowledging both the demand and appreciation for fine rum. That’s often manifested itself in the form of “rum bars,” or bars that offer rums from around the region, not just one particular island. But there’s a new rum power in the Caribbean: Anguilla’s Zemi Beach House.
The island’s newest hotel has debuted a new bar called the Rhum Room, whose wide-ranging and diverse selection has immediately elevated it to one of the Caribbean’s top rum bars.
And it isn’t just the first true rum bar in Anguilla — it’s got one of the most exclusive selections of rum anywhere.
Zemi Beach House in Anguilla.
It boasts a superb menu of rums from across the region, with a particularly strong showing from the French Caribbean departments.
And not just token varieties — we’re talking about serious, thoughtful selections that you rarely find at any hotel in the region.
That includes rums like Depaz Cuvee Prestige, which was Caribbean Journal’s Rhum Agricole of the year in 2015, Damoiseau’s 1991 vintage and even La Favorite’s Privilege and Flibuste expressions.
The agricole selections join a number of top rums from the English and Spanish-speaking Caribbean, from top Diplomatico expressions to the Dominican Repubilc’s Brugal Papa Andres.
In total, the bar boasts more than 100 rums handpicked by the hotel’s house “Rummelier” to give what the hotel calls a “true taste of the Caribbean.”
The bar also offers “Rhum Flights,” from an “English Invasion” flight of special rums from Antigua, Guyana and Trinidad, to a “French Invasion” offering rums from Martinique, Guadeloupe and Haiti.
And yes, there is food, too, but with a rum twist: each dish is accompanied by a recommended rum pairing: for example, a Colombian Oxtail Rillette with twice-fried plantain and red pepper is paired with Rhum Clement 1976; a torchon of foie gras is paired with Appleton Estate 21 year.