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The Barbados Rum and Food Festival is an island-wide extravaganza
Bajan flavours, textures, aromas and local ingredients come alive for four days every October for the Barbados Rum and Food Festival. We dive in for a taste.
As I enter the media welcome party, with dozens of international journalists, I’m given a tropical-looking layered cocktail. “What’s this drink made of?” I ask. “Love,” says the mixologist with a flirty smirk. I know that smirk isn’t just for me — it’s a cultural Bajan thing — but still, I don’t ignore it. He continues, “It’s also made with a combination of passionfruit, spices and the best Barbados liquid gold, a.k.a. Mount Gay Rum.” It’s a delicious rum-based sangria that I go back for several times that evening.
Right then and there, I decide that over the next few days, I will drink all of the syrupy cocktails, I will not make the healthiest choices and I will not be shocked that my jeans don’t fit when I return home.
I’m here in Barbados for the annual Barbados Rum and Food Festival — a four-day fête that turns the island into a wonderland for lovers of…