Mystery Rum??

[RumBarPhilly]

Last year, I got as a present a bottle of unlabeled rum. It was wearing a straw hat with a wax seal. It was also wrapped in this paper that made it appear to be wearing a shirt. It had a necklace reading "U.S. Virgin Islands". Underneath its 'shirt' is a label saying it is a product of St. Thomas.

Does anybody know of this rum or rums like it? It wasnt great, but it had one of the nicest finishes ive ever had with notes of chocolate, vanilla, caramel. Yet the rum wasnt sweet at all, very mellow with no smell and even less taste. But the finish!!

Im curious where this product came from.

[Edward Hamilton]

What you had was probably one of the private bottlings from the AH Riise company. AH Riise buys rum from the Cruzan Rum Distillery on St Croix, about 36 miles south of St Thomas.

AH Riise also bottles a 3 to 6 year old rum and a 6 to 12 year old rum that are quite delicious, but you'll have to go to St Thomas to buy them.

[RumBarPhilly]

Thanks!

Unfortunately I just had my bartender down in St. Thomas and she didn't find anything there in the liquor stores other than the usual suspects, although she did see that bottle with the hat again!

[Dood]

Thanks!

Unfortunately I just had my bartender down in St. Thomas and she didn't find anything there in the liquor stores other than the usual suspects, although she did see that bottle with the hat again!

I was just in St. Thomas last Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving Day) and was told by the locals that you can only buy AH Riise rums at the A.H. Riise store just off of Main Street by the old cruise ship pier.

I was unable to obtain any AHR because of a combination of bad timing and location. Timing because I was there on Thanksgiving Day, so everything opened late and closed early (I was on a sailing tour of St. John the entire time the store was open) and Location because I had gotten directions to the A.H. Riise store from where I had been expecting our ship to dock...which was not where we actually docked. We docked at some new cruise ship pier about 4 miles or so from downtown. :(

[Edward Hamilton]

Welcome to the islands, I think you did very well to get from the south side of Sint Maarten, across that island and a channel to Anguilla and back in a short day. You can't do everything in one trip, so you'll have to go back.

The new dock where you landed is called Crown Bay across from Elephant Bay where most cruising sailboats spend their time in St Thomas as it's the most protected anchorage and is close to grocery stores. Off the larger cruise ship dock, a few miles east of Elephant Bay, the anchorage isn't as nice from most sailor's point of view.

[Dood]

Welcome to the islands, I think you did very well to get from the south side of Sint Maarten, across that island and a channel to Anguilla and back in a short day. You can't do everything in one trip, so you'll have to go back.

So horrible...having to go back to the islands again and again. ;)