Even ordering a drink was an adventure at the Barrilito Rum
Factory in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In this video, we will watch how it’s done as
the bartender creates three drinks for us … with panache! He was a true artiste
and the drinks were amazing. We actually went to Hacienda Santa Ana for a
tasting tour of Ron de Barrilito, but found the bartender’s artistry equally
fascinating, and wanted to share it.
Map
The tour itself was very crowded and not as comprehensive as we expected for such a sprawling factory, but the drinks were great! Interestingly, Bob did this tour in 1994 and it was dirt cheap, maybe $5. How times have changed! Rum tours are now big business, and an obvious revenue stream from tourism. But if you’re on a Puerto Rican vacation, why not? Experiencing rum is an important part of experiencing the local culture. Bacardi offers a number of different tours, ranging in price from $40 to $200.
Normally, to get there, you take a ferry across the water from the ferry terminal in Old San Juan – an awesome experience in its own right! – then grab a quick Uber to the factory in Catano. We went on a Puerto Rican holiday when no ferries were running, and had to drive.
Learn more and buy tour tickets at the Casa Bacardi website.
Sorry for the long gap between blogs. We've had a lot of stuff going on: buying a house in Puerto Rico, taking care of some health issues, and welcoming our oldest child home from college. We've been moving and buying furniture and repairing toilets and getting kayaks and watching sunsets. But now we are settled in PR for half the year, and the questions are coming from friends and friends of friends planning visits to the island: What should they do here? Here are some of our favorite experiences for visitors based in San Juan.
Read the blog HERE!
As Messy
Suitcase makes the rounds of rum distilleries across Puerto Rico, we discovered
a new boutique one in Old San Juan and decided to pay a visit. Scryer Rum Barrelhouse
& Rooftop is a small-batch, pot-distilled sipping rum distillery in a gorgeous
historic building.
“Sipping” is
industry-speak for expensive
– the good stuff you drink on its own, as opposed to the cheap stuff you pour
into a cocktail.
Scryer was
founded by a couple of buddies shortly before the pandemic. Garrett, who led
our tour, started his alcohol education in whiskey and brought that expertise
to rum distilling. But while the partners have created a delicious sipping rum,
a lovely bar and a delightful rooftop, they have a lot to learn about running a
good tour! They missed out on a lot of opportunities. Find out why in this
video.
(Sorry in
advance for the loud music in the background – they conduct the tour right next
to the noisy bar.)
Info: https://scryerrum.com/
