It happens every November, when the season kicks off in St Barth, and the Caribbean’s most luxurious island kicks off the winter tourist season and celebrates the gourmet world.
It starts the first of November, with the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth, the ultimate Caribbean rum festival, a celebration of only the finest artisanal, premium rums from the Caribbean and the Americas.
From Nov. 1-6, the island raises its glass to a week of rooftop parties, ti’ punch soirees, rum-and-food pairing dinners and a centerpiece two-day festival right on the Marina in Gustavia.
It’s all presented by Platinum partners WIMCO, Tradewind Aviation and The Moorings.
The following week, Nov. 8-13, St Barth’s Gourmet Month continues with the St Barth Gourmet Festival, the Caribbean’s most exclusive culinary event, bringing an unrivaled slate of 11 star chefs to the island for a full schedule of Michelin-level menus, competitions, lunches and dinners all over the island.
That includes the chefs’ guest turns at some of St Barth’s top restaurants, from L’Esprit to Bagatelle and the Eden Rock, among others.
“There’s no better island for this kind of monthlong celebration aimed at the bon vivant,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal and co-founder of the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth. “From the best rums in the world to impossibly good sourcing and exquisite cuisine, St Barth is the Caribbean’s true picenter of gastronomy.”
It’s the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth that starts off Gourmet Month, beginning with a VIP rooftop party by Martnique’s Rhum Neisson at the Le Barthelemy Hotel and Spa in Grand Cul de Sac.
But that’s just the beginning: master classes from the world’s top rum distillers, rum after parties, ti’ punch pool parties and, most importantly, a headquarters at the most remarkable rum bar on earth: Christopher Davis’ Rhum Room St Barth, home to the world’s premier collection of fine rum (and particularly the rhum agricole of the French Caribbean).
“The Rhum Room is a bucket-list destination for rum connoisseurs the world over, and it is the beating heart of this weeklong tribute to rum,” Britell said. “And while the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth is the ultimate stop for rum aficionados, it’s also an outstanding entry point to the universe of rum for any lover of fine wines and spirits.”
And the weeklong focus is on only the finest rums, with distilleries bringing the best of their expressions for the eminently discerning St Barth crowd. (You can find tickets to the Rum Awards here).
And if you stick around, you can sample the results of a rarefied gathering of world-class French chefs, from legendary Jean-Georges Vongerichten to three-Michelin-star Chef Gerald Passedat (of Le Petit Nice) to Michelin-star Chef Fanny Rey, among others.
Each Chef sets up shop as guest chef a different participating local hotel or restaurant, making for a deliciously unique experience all week long, alongside the island’s already-impressive culinary culture.
“This is a culinary festival where everyone can taste the talents of our chefs as well as their highly-acclaimed guest chefs,” St Barth Tourism said in a statement.
For more, visit the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth and the St Barth Gourmet Festival.