Suggestions needed to buy rum??

[nyc gal]

I will be in St. Thomas and St. Maarten in August and need to buy some rum. First which island has the best rum ?? Also which rums are very good on each island ??

thanks

[O2B@Cagain]

Virgin Island rums include Cruzan and Captain Morgan. Cruzan has lots of flavored rums as well as good old Cruzan dark, the rum of the VI!!

[mister exec]

When you get to St Thomas, see for yourself which rum is best. At AH Riise (pronounced rees) they let you sample many different rums so you can see which flavor you prefer. They also pack the rum very well and the airlines have never broken a bottle for me yet. If you want, they will also deliver your rum directly to your ship so you don't have to carry it around while shopping. Many brands are 2 bottles for $13.00 so they are very reasonable. Our favorite is the Chocolate Amaretto liquor!

 

Enjoy!

[m steve]

Riise has several versions available incl. Sugar Cane Brandy or rum which is very good. Also Cruzan single bottle. You can buy 2 bottles each in St. Martin (might be a little cheaper) and then 4 more each in St. Thomas. You might want to try an old Martinique rhum in St. Martin that is not for mixing but more like a single malt scotch or Cognac. Ask the merchant for their selection.

[laser110]

In the VI the ONLY rum is Cruzan ( pronounced Croo shun) I perfer 151 Gold as a personal favorite. Unfortunately they will not sell it to you if you are flying, due to the high alcohol content. I even had issues trying to buy it when we were there on a cruise out of NYC and were driving home to NJ, no flying involved.

 

A close second and good sipping rum is Cruzan Estate One Barrel. Very smooth taste, almost like a good brandy or cognac. Good over ice.

 

Some of their flavored rums are good too and excellent to mix into a drink.

 

I don't consider Captain Morgan a VI rum. It is made on St. Croix, but it's a recent import with the opening of the factory there. You can buy it as your 6th bottle, sicne it is made in the VI and counts, but for true VI flavor can't go wrong with Cruzan.

 

AH Riise has good prices and there is the opprtunity to try out various types prior to purchase. Kmart is also a another great source to purchase your alcohol.

 

Scott

[Langley Cruisers]

(Mount Gay) Sugar Cane Brandy or rum which is very good.

 

Absolutely! Hear hear! Good choice. We always pick up a bottle each of the Sugar Cane Brandy - can get the rum but not the brandy here in Canada.

[m steve]

are the same. Just different labels for different ports. I see no value in the 151 except to burn on a dish calling for rum. I personally would not drink it as it really has no character, just makes one drunk faster.

[laser110]

There is a differnce in brandy and rum. The best explanation I found is here: http://www.blurtit.com/q287352.html

 

I enjoy a glass over 151 over ice. If the rum is good, has a nice flavor, color and bouqet a glass of 151 can be very enjoyable. I don't drink rum to "get drunk" been drinking it since I could reach the bar.

 

Scott

[Keith1010]

I prefer the selection of store in St. Thomas.

 

Keith

[O2B@Cagain]

In the VI the ONLY rum is Cruzan ( pronounced Croo shun)

Scott

 

Actually, Scott, the people from St Croix are "croo-shuns" (Crucians) and the rum is "croo-zan";)

[MikeyB]

And just to confuse the issue...although St Thomas has the reputation, I thought the prices for liquor was cheaper in St martin. With exceptions (of course).

[laser110]

O2B- it's all in the accent ;)

 

Scott

[coastalite]

Mt. Gay, dark colored rum made in Barbados IS THE BEST rum IMHO. Of course that is subjective based on your tastes. I have had many rums, and out of all the plain non-flavored dark colored rums, Mt. Gay is the best.

 

We buy all of our liquor at Al Cohen's in St. Thomas at the Havensight dock. Last year we stocked up on Mt. Gay and Stoli and they delivered free to the ship, guaranteed. You are allowed 5 liter bottles per person as long as one of those liters is made in the USVI - if not, then 4 liters each. I'm not a big fan of Cruzan Rum (made in USVI), but we each buy a bottle to max out our duty free liquor allowance and give them away as gifts, keeping the good stuff (Stoli & Mt. Gay) for ourselves (i.e. me) - lol.

 

When you can buy a liter of Stoli for $8 or $10 in St. Thomas, it makes sense to stock up because that same bottle here in VA costs around $30 with tax. VA factors in 25% tax into the retail price per bottle... then they tax you again 5% in retail sales taxes. 30% in taxes. This is why I try not to buy any liquor in VA. I'll buy in FL or St. Thomas.

[CFLCruisers]

There are many good rums available in St. Thomas. I agree, Mt. Gay(Barbados) is excellent. The local Cruzan Rum is good & a real bargain.

For real bargain bragging rights, ask locals where they buy. K-mart of all places has fantastic liquor prices, but doesn't box it up. Selection is more limited than liquor stores. I backpack it to the ship in the AM before it gets too hot. It is a 10 min. walk from Havensight Docks. Everything else, I buy anywhere & enjoy the island.

[PimpDaddy2Kool]

AH Riise is probably the best place in St. Thomas, plus they deliver to your ship's cabin room. A huge plus, as (1) you don't to carry bottles during the day and (2) wait in line to rummage though the delivery room in the ship. Downside is they mostly carry Cruzan, and not a lot of premium rums like Pyrat XO, English Harbor, Angosturas 1824, Havana Club Blue, etc.

 

However the prices and selection (more high end rums) is better in St. Martin (Dutch side). No delivery though.

[Got2Cruise]

Which cruiseline allows you accept the liquor in your room? Most cruises I have been on make you store it until the last day. To the OP, if you want to make a painkiller, look for Pussers Rum.

AH Riise is probably the best place in St. Thomas, plus they deliver to your ship's cabin room. A huge plus, as (1) you don't to carry bottles during the day and (2) wait in line to rummage though the delivery room in the ship. Downside is they mostly carry Cruzan, and not a lot of premium rums like Pyrat XO, English Harbor, Angosturas 1824, Havana Club Blue, etc.

 

However the prices and selection (more high end rums) is better in St. Martin (Dutch side). No delivery though.

[m steve]

If you have a box of DF and turn it in, they don't inspect every carry on after you go thru security xray so it's easy to take one or two to your cabin. You can buy more DF in St. Thomas but the prices might be a little higher than ST. Martin but then there's the delivery factor. I found the biggest difference was for Mt. Gay extra Olde as it was about $10 more in STT than STM. I would usually buy 4 bottles in STM and 8 more in STT for the 2 of us. If your ship docks in San Juan, anything you buy there is not subject to the DF allowance so stock up unless you are flying. Prices are close to the DF (it's tax free) and they have specials that beat both islands.

[jackdiamond]

In the VI the ONLY rum is Cruzan ( pronounced Croo shun) I perfer 151 Gold as a personal favorite. Unfortunately they will not sell it to you if you are flying, due to the high alcohol content. I even had issues trying to buy it when we were there on a cruise out of NYC and were driving home to NJ, no flying involved.

 

A close second and good sipping rum is Cruzan Estate One Barrel. Very smooth taste, almost like a good brandy or cognac. Good over ice.

 

Some of their flavored rums are good too and excellent to mix into a drink.

 

I don't consider Captain Morgan a VI rum. It is made on St. Croix, but it's a recent import with the opening of the factory there. You can buy it as your 6th bottle, sicne it is made in the VI and counts, but for true VI flavor can't go wrong with Cruzan.

 

AH Riise has good prices and there is the opprtunity to try out various types prior to purchase. Kmart is also a another great source to purchase your alcohol.

 

Scott

Caution; You are allowed 5 liters per person, not six.

[m steve]

and were never questioned.

[cruisdog]

So there is a Kmart in the islands? Where exactly is it? Love your rum discussion, and am looking forward to buying some. Thanks

[m steve]

about a half mile north of Havensite and anoother near TUTU village in the center oif the island. Neither delivers to the ship. I personally prefer to buy at Riise or Dynasty or Al Cohen's as they deliver to the ship. They also have a better selection and the prices are about the same of cheaper and they all have daily specials with promotional gifts of buy 2 discounts.

[cruisdog]

Thanks for the quick answer. We will certainly check out all three places. Robert

[Skye23]

Planning for our March trip to the Carribean (Grand Turk, San Juan, St Thomas etc). Can somebody please confirm that I'm understanding the rules correctly.

 

Anything I buy in San Juan is considered to be the same as if I were to buy it here in Delaware for customs purposes. Obviously I'd need to keep the receipt to prove where I bought it, and the Cruise Ship will store it for me until its time to pack and go home.

 

I doubt I'll buy anything in Grand Turk, but I suppose its possible I'd buy a single bottle of something local. This would count towards my total of 4-5 bottles per person.

 

In St Thomas - I can purchase the rest of my 4-5 bottle per person allotment. If I buy 1 bottle that is local (USVI) then its 5, otherwise its 4. Again these will be delivered to the ship until I pack.

 

Now when they say bottles - do they mean any size bottle or is it specific size (liter?).

 

Coming home, does this booze need to be packed in my carryon or can it be packed in checked luggage provided I declare it. Secondly how do you all pack yours? I forget how I brought home the small quantity I bought in Scotland and Ireland years ago. We didn't bring home much and I think they were packed in gift tubes so we just wrapped our sweaters around them and that was that. Never considered bringing home this much before lol

[m steve]

If you are flying the weight and baggage charge may eat up your savings. You are correct about PR purchases as well as others. Nothing much to buy in Grand Turk as prices are higher than PR or St. Thomas. If you change planes everything must be checked thru as luggage and there's a big chance for breakage. I use bubble bags that they provide in San Juan if you spend $100 or more and others I wrap in dirty clothes as well as plastic. I might buy a lot but we drive to port from home. I used to spend my summers in Rehoboth and found some cheap liquor in the big stores .

[Skye23]

Yeah, the booze is pretty cheap here in Delaware, even in the northern end of the state. I think I'm paying like $11-$13 for a bottle of Cruzan flavored rum as it is. So pretty much its going to be looking for stuff I can't find in the local store, although considering my local store is a Total Wine and its the size of a supermarket I'm not sure what I'll find. I just figured I'd try to get some unique/local stuff for the fun of it, not try to save money.