Our Guide to Barbados Rum Shacks

Located 150km east of the main curve of the Caribbean Islands, Barbados is where many of us get the first taste of the wonderful Caribbean islands.  And for good reason with temperatures that remain around 28 degrees Celsius, wonderful white sandy beaches, incredibly friendly people, an incredible selection of villas in Barbados and then, of course, there is the Rum!

The chances are that your introduction to rum in Barbados will be when you first arrive at your villa(will you villa be one of our Top 10 villas in Barbados?) and you are greeted at the door by your beaming warm and friendly Housekeeper with a tray full of colourful cocktails that initially look pretty innocent but will definitely get you straight into the holiday mood!!

Check out the recipe of one of our favourite and most popular housekeepers – Ollie from 1 Smuggler’s Cove located on the beautiful beach at Paynes Bay in Barbados.

But the best place to drink rum is of course at a rum shack and Barbados has almost 1500 of them sprinkled across the island.   That’s an awful lot for an island that is only 19 miles long and 6 miles wide. Hanging out at a rum shack is arguably one of the best things to do in Barbados.

Bottle of mount gay rum stuck in the sand next to a rum shack in barbados
Bottle of rum

Many of the Barbados rum shacks are family-owned for generations and are supported by the local distilleries who have their posters decorating them.     Most of the rum shacks are not tourist bars so don’t expect any luxury.  In fact, the appeal is to dress down and enjoy the rough and ready atmosphere.   You will find plastic chairs, pin-up calendars and rows and rows of bottles lined up with lots of weird and wonderful concoctions.  The names are wonderfully Bajan – The watering hole, Bombas, Vernon’s cosy bar to name but a few…

The first thing to know is that you can only order rum by the bottle but a lot of the local manufacturers produce different sized bottles with names such as pint and flask.   The second thing is that it will not be long before you will be chatting with some of the other customers.  And expect anything and anyone – from local Rastafarians to local politicians.

You might even bump into Simon Cowell or Wayne and Colleen Rooney who spend much of their holiday time in Barbados.   The most important part is that you do some ”limin”.  Like the Irish word Craic (having great fun), the word lime means passing the time, having a chat with plenty of banter.

Here are a few Rum shacks on the West Coast in St James where most of our luxury villas in Barbados are located that we consider worth a visit.


Beach Bar at Westmoreland

If your preference is to start with a more sophisticated experience of a rum shack, try the rum shop at Royal Westmoreland.   Even though it is more touristy than the traditional shack, it does pay homage to the local traditional Bajan rum and gives you a feel for the great atmosphere.


Chris’s Place and Bar

Chris’s Place is very rustic and has an amazing atmosphere.   It is pretty small and limited in space and you can expect to sit on plastic seats.   It is fully of locals and is famous for its ribs but does offer fantastic fish too.  Chris’s Place is located just inland slightly from Gibb’s Beach in Rock Dundo.


Lexies

Lexies is located in Oistin’s Fish Market to the north of St James in St Peters. During the week, you will find the local fishermen discussing the current fishing climate.  It is a great place at the weekend when the whole fish market becomes one big party.

If you are looking for the perfect authentic rum moment whilst you are on vacation in Barbados, head to the East coast of the island.   Not only it is the most captivating part of the island, but also the least touristy and therefore you will get the real deal.   Here the rum shacks are strategically placed at road junctions and viewpoints.

Try Grantley’s shop which is located in Bath Hill St John. It is a half bar and half convenience store.  This is the type of place where the locals come to buy some washing up liquid but stay for a quick glass of local Eclipse rum!

Grantley’s Shop also has a wonderful and ancient duke box from the seventies.

For just a few cents, you can listen to Elvis or some more locally inspired Reggae and Calypso.  When you step outside, the view across the sugar fields and the crashing Atlantic waves will be even better than when you arrived!!


Ollie’s Famous Secret Rum Punch Recipe

  • 1 measure of freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 measures of sugar syrup
  • 3 measures of dark Mount Gay Barbados Rum – the older the better
  • 4 measures of water
  • A dash of Angostura bitters and some freshly grated nutmeg

Start by creating the syrup.  Place two measure of brown sugar into a pan with a little water and cook until the sugar has melted.

Add the dark rum and water.   Ollie’s secret ingredient is to change the water for passion fruit juice.

Serve with plenty of ice, a dash of bitters, some fresh fruit and a dash of freshly grated nutmeg.

We at Exceptional Villas are big fans of Barbados and you can read more about this Caribbean paradise in our Essential Barbados Travel Guide.

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About Alexandra Baradi

Alexandra Baradi is the founder and owner of Exceptional Villas. She started the company 1992. Alex is a hotel manager by background and has travelled around the world in search of the best villas.

Her personal passion for travel and her entrepreneurial flair for making guest feel very special from the moment they enquire to the moment they arrive home, has enabled Exceptional Villas to become the world’s leader in luxury villas.

She believes anything is possible when you travel with Exceptional Villas and ensures you will be pampered every step of the way.

Alexandra and her team all have one thing in common; to provide their guests with an unmatched holiday experience and to go beyond expectations.

Each of the team members specialise in just one destination rather than in multiple destinations allowing them to become total experts in their fields.

Both Alexandra and her team spend much of their time travelling to all the destinations inspecting new villas and re-inspecting already featured villas.

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