Rum That Grows On Trees

You can't touch your toe on a Caribbean island and not be surrounded by rum in a myriad of concoctions and versions. In St. Kitts, you'll find locally produced Brinley's Gold and Belmont Rums but I was quite shocked to discover a rum tree.  In the quaint town of Old Road, the oldest village on the island, sits a mango tree laden with bottles and bottles of rum.

I couldn't quite figure what it was as we glided past on the narrow road  so we stopped to investigate. Our lovely and all-knowing guide, La Verne explained that drunken men from the adjoining bar hang their empty bottles and locals dubbed it the Rum Tree. I explained the Southern/African tradition of bottle trees and she had never heard of the concept but the connection is clearly still there.

The colorful Lover's Bar  above, is where the ritual originates and it looks like just the place to inspire a lot of wild times!