!44: Visiting the Mount Gay Rum Factory in Barbados

!±8± Visiting the Mount Gay Rum Factory in Barbados

A visit to Barbados isn't complete until you have visited the Mount Gay Rum Visitors Centre. It is here where you will discover the secrets behind Barbados' finest and most celebrated golden spirit - the 300 year old Mount Gay Rum.

Your first stop is to the Mount Gay Rum Brand Museum, where guests are introduced to the history of Mount Gay Rum and Barbados.

As you walk into an authentic replica of a Barbadian rum shop, the lights go out and the story begins. All tours are given by very professional and friendly guides, and you are given the opportunity to touch and smell the essential elements (sugar cane, molasses and distilled un-aged alcohol) used in the rum making process.

Perhaps the most anticipated stop is the Mount Gay Bar! The master barman shouts "Belly Up To The Bar" and visitors are encouraged to taste the different rums and experience the characteristic nuances between the rums. Chris Breedy, Mount Gay's ever so cordial barman, will tempt you with a variety of his special potions involving the different Mount Gay rums.

Tell Chris that Billy and Carolyn of BarbadosBarbados.com sent you and you'll be served with the delicious but lethal "Painkiller", a knee-weakening cocktail that is sure to please. Without a doubt, Chris makes the best rum punch in Barbados. Chris has shared his secret recipe with us, and we're going to share it with you:

The Painkiller

6 oz Mount Gay Eclipse Rum

4 oz Simple syrup

5 oz Fresh lime juice

2 oz water

2 tsp Grenadine syrup

3 dash Angostura bitters

1) Mix all ingredients in a jug with a spoon.

2) Serve in tall glasses fill with ice.

3) Garnish with a cherry on a sword and add a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.

Serves 4.

The gift shop has an extensive line of high quality Mount Gay branded merchandise and rum available for purchase. The Mount Gay Visitor's Centre is located on Spring Garden Highway, minutes from Bridgetown and it is within walking distance from the cruise ship terminal. Hope you enjoy and please drink wisely.

For more information on the best attractions in Barbados, be sure to visit BarbadosBarbados.com, your personal concierge to the island. Let us plan your next stay on our island paradise.