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!

Comments

Unknown said…
That's a bunch of bottles! Wonder how long it took to put them there!
I'm about to move to St Kitts, so I will go by and take a look--either at the bar or the bottles.
Unknown said…
oh what memories. i remember the rum cake and complimentary bottles of rum we indulged in when we visited the cayman's

yummy!!
Catherine said…
connotes a lot of drunken men on St Kitts for sure - never seen this before!!
Fly Girl said…
Dave, that's so exciting that you're moving to St. Kitts, it's a wonderful place, keep me posted. Thanks for dropping by.

Roschelle, Cayman rum never looked like this!

Catherine, hee, hee, especially since the island is so small.
eden said…
Wow, very interesting! My first time to see this. Thank you for sharing.
Fly Girl said…
Eden, it's the first time I've seen a bottle tree in the Caribbean and it is a very intriguing sight.
It's so odd to see that the connection carries on to this day without either party aware of it. Great post. Glad to have you back.

Greetings from London.
Fly Girl said…
Cubano, you know the African Diaspora is extremely wide and diverse and the influences are never ending.
Interesting the way it started that tradition...have you drunk a bottle and hanged it yourself (before you faint =P)??

Lala
Fly Girl said…
Lala, I'm afraid I couldn't handle the rum in St. Kitts! Thanks for dropping by.
Mary said…
Fly girl,
What a fun find... I want to know the tradition of bottle trees! What's that?

When i lived in Namibia, I saw houses built out of bottles, but it was more from an effort of using available resources than a cultural tradition...
If I had a tree at home, I'd totally hang bottles too!!!
Oh wow, rum heaven, my friend will love this.
Fly Girl said…
Mary, I wrote about the tradition of bottle trees in my Amelia Island posts. Trees with blue and green bottles decorate Southern yards and gardens, representing the African tradition of capturing spirits in the bottles before they enter your house.

Jen, they's have to be hand blown bottles for me!

Tiffany, yes, St. Kitts is a rum lovers paradise.

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