Tourist Thursdays: Sweet Rum & Fun in Barbados

 

Turn off your chats and hold all your calls – you’re about to enjoy a delicious ride through history.

There was no sweeter way to end the Crop Over season than to visit an old plantation that is surrounded by 400 acres of sugar cane, gullies and mahogany trees. The Crop season begins in February but is Over by May, hence the name of the festival season, Crop Over. Learn more about Crop Over.

As a beach lover, I made sure to sit on the left side of the Speighstown bus to get glances of the sea between the hotels. I then hopped into my photographers’ ‘betsy’ (car), with friends from St. Lucia and Barbados. About 10 minutes later we entered the peaceful and shady entrance to St. Nicholas Abbey.

The 40 feet mahogany and palm trees spanning the 60-yard driveway gave us a grand welcome. With such an entrance, one might think they’re visiting royalty! I stuck my head out of car and tilted it with a big smile as we drove in. But this was only the beginning beauty.

 

The plantation’s great house is a Jacobean mansion filled with antiques, portraits and stories of the past. It is one of the three remaining Jacobean mansions in the Western Hemisphere. The wooden floors, tapestry and the over 200-year-old furniture – mainly mahogany – is still beautiful and warm.

 

 

While the dining room and drawing room have views of the floral surroundings, it is the study that boasts my favourite view – the vegetable and herb garden! A bayleaf tree stands in the centre of the English styled garden with rosemary, tarragon, lemongrass, aloes and hot pepper used to make pepper sauce on the plantation. The garden was the medicinal cabinet for the Dottin, Alleyne, Cumberbatch and Cave families from the 16-1900s.

The 17^th century great house has been remodeled over the centuries and its additions are a pride of architecture. Upstairs, however, is too old to visit so only the birds have seen the four cornerstone chimneys and fireplaces.

Our engaging tour guide, Maureen, took us to the Rum & Sugar Bond for the amazing St. Nicholas Abbey’s rum and fruit punch. Have your taste buds ever experienced the delight of unblended rum made from sugar cane syrup rather than molasses? At St. Nicholas Abbey, there is no mixing of old and young rums. I tried an unblended 15-year-old straight from the barrel. My mouth felt like a fiery sugar cave! While my Lucian friend drank it as it is, I obviously need to add mango juice.

The rum helped me to take Kermit sips while hearing the drama, scandal and humour of the plantation’s changing ownership. It is a soap opera history and you have to visit to hear the juice!

But here’s one – young Edward Cumberbatch Jr. ignored the clause in his Father’s will, which forbid him to marry the daughter of Andrew Ashe for five years. His Father hoped he would eventually lose interest, but the love struck Cumberbatch Jr. gave up his 400 acres plus inheritance and married Mary Ashe instead. Oh! The love of the golden days!

 

You will also see home footage shot by the Cave family in the 1930s of the operating windmill and steam engine. The film rolls were discovered years later by the great grandson of Charles Cave in a draw. It is said that mischievous little boys would grab onto the 100 feet windmill propellers as they circled. Skill was required, as the boys needed a good grip to flip vertically in order to avoid landing on their heads when the propellers descended.

Thanks to a rum lesson by Distiller Operator Eddie, I now understand boiling temperatures, copper, the heads-hearts-tails of rum and how brown rum is made.  I won’t try any of this at home but many did so years ago; folks would hide at night to make rum illicitly. This brought about the name moonshine for the rum making tanks of yesteryear.

We continued our tour onto Cherry Tree Hill for an 850 ft. view of Barbados and were treated to juicy sugar cane by Mr. Friendly at the vendor’s area.

I’m so anxious to tell you all that I experienced but you must discover the surprises for yourself. Open your arms and feel the wind of the St. Peter hills while enjoying the 400-acre view of sugar cane and gullies.

St. Nicholas Abbey was a rich experience with rich rum! Thank you to Sonya Goddard of Essgee Creative for capturing its beauty.

*About Tourist Thursdays: Youth from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share their local island experience with the world! Tourism starts at home.