Cayman has two of the “sexiest” bars in the Caribbean says USA Today
By Melanie Reffles USA Today
Shaken or stirred, frozen or on the rocks, with a cherry on top or delivered to a beach towel on the sand, cocktails are the champions of the Caribbean and although every island and every beach bar boasts its own boozy claim to fame, a really fine drink can morph a great holiday into a grand one. And the right watering hole can keep you lingering long after your thirst is quenched.
Spoonful of sugar: Grand Cayman
Either dessert in a glass or a vacay mainstay, Cayman Mudslide is a boozy tower of ice cream, vodka, Irish Cream, Kahlua and amaretto. In a cold glass on a hot afternoon, the heady drinks are big sellers at the Tortuga Beach Bar at the Westin Grand Cayman. For those with less adventurous tastes buds, stick to the cucumber martini at the Catboat Bar in the lobby. Across the street at the Sunshine Suites, bartenders pour a mean and minty mojito at the Sunshine Grill, which is not only on the A-list for flip-flop regulars but is also Trip Adviser’s No. 1 of 49 restaurants in Seven Mile Beach. For those with an unrelenting thirst for the strong stuff, keep your eyes on the clock as the bars stop pouring at midnight. westingrandcayman.com; sunshinesuites.com.
Spice is right: Grenada
Shaken with ice and keeping a martini glass company, Spice Seduction is the aptly named pour at the Sea and Surf Terrace at the Spice Island Beach Resort. The recipient of umpteen awards, the resort is the quintessential island chill-out. And the pretty mélange of dark rum, the local De La Grenade liqueur which tastes like nutmeg, Blue Curacao made on that other island, orange juice, squeeze of lime to liven it up and a splash of Grenadine to sweeten it up is another reason to extend your stay, at least for one more cocktail hour. spiceislandbeachresort.com
Big blue: Aruba
Everything in it is blue from the muted blue lighting to the Blue Sky Martini stirred (or shaken). So hip it hurts, Blue Bar on the pool deck at the Renaissance Aruba is the epicenter of cool with one of the happiest Happy Hours on the island, featuring a myriad of martinis and tapas to wash them down. marriott.com
Over the top: Jamaica
Celebrating the big 4-0 this year, Rick’s Café on the West End cliffs high above Negril is where the brazen go to leap 35 feet into the sea and where those cheering them on go for the potent planter’s punch. Opened in 1974 by an American expat, the perch on the hill does a brisk business with spring breakers, regular Joe’s and newlyweds who swear by the ‘Jamaican Viagra’ blended with stout beer, white rum, oatmeal, one egg and finished off with chocolate syrup. rickscafejamaica.com
Rise and shine: Anguilla
The drink of choice is slightly sweet, dangerously potent and deliciously popular. With a hint of fermented ginger, rum punch-based Duneshine is poured nonstop at the Dune Preserve on Rendezvous Bay. As iconic as the drink, the club’s owner is as close to a local legend as it gets. Bankie Banx, a reggae musician by day and night, is also the brains behind Moonsplash — the biggest festival of the year that brings the house down at the Dune for three days in March. Fashioned from driftwood, out-of-commission racing boats and seashells, the shack on the beach is also revered for A-list celeb-spotting and the honey-glazed ribs grilled over charcoal. For diehards, tickets for Moonsplash, March 13-16, will sell out quickly (so will the ribs). olaidebanks.wix.com
Drop in the bucket: St. Thomas
If you haven’t yet sipped from an ice-filled bucket of VooDoo Juice, Iggie’s Beach Bar at the Bolongo Bay Resort is the place of fruity first introductions. Packed with five kinds of Cruzan rum and a splash of fruit juice, the happy hooch goes exceptionally well with a pile of conch fritters and the house-made mango dipping sauce. iggiesbeachbar.com
Painkillers: Jost van Dyke
A watering hole like few others, the liquid claim to fame at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands is the wildly popular Painkiller — an intoxicating blend of pineapple, orange and coconut juices fortified with Pusser’s dark rum and drizzled with nutmeg. With fewer than 300 inhabitants who at one time included William Thornton, the designer of the U.S. Capitol Building, the ragtag isle is where hammock-sitters, beach towel aficionados and everyone else with time on their hands come to sip until the last one leaves. With a crafty marketing muscle, membership in the Official Painkiller Club comes with a sometimes published newsletter and any benefits you can score by showing it to savvy bartenders worldwide. soggydollar.com
Libations in the library: Nevis
On the unsung island across the channel from St. Kitts, the classy Library Bar in the swanky Four Seasons Nevis is time travel back to the days before mega resorts and big buffets. In the grand Great House, bartenders pour sass in a glass called a Mangojito that is crafted with the local Brinley’s Gold Mango Rum, mint sprigs, a dash of a few other things and a soda spritz to make it sing. fourseasons.com
Bottoms up: St. Maarten
Right at the end of the runway at the Princess Juliana International Airport, Sunset Bar is so close to the action that it might as well be part of the airport. Heads and shoulders above a typical shack on a tropical shore, this one is a big hit with plane spotters who come to watch the jets soaring so close to the beach that many claim they can wave to the pilots in the cockpit. With a Runway Rum Punch in hand, aviation fans listen to air traffic control chatter broadcast on speakers and synch their photo-taking with the flight schedules posted on a giant surfboard. Tip to tourists: The bar is less crowded with out-of-towners on Sunday afternoon and more popular with locals who come for a dip at Maho Beach. sunsetsxm.com
No frills: Barbados
They may not be fancy but there are plenty of them. They’re called rum shops and if you believe local lore, there’s upwards of 1,200 on the island, which according to the old-timers, is more than the number of churches. With at least one in every village, these no-frills social hubs are also the go-to spots for a plate of flying fish with a wedge of macaroni pie and the latest cricket scores. visitbarbados.org
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