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Ssshhh!  Don’t tell the wife, but there was more than one focus for my love on our last holiday...

“Where did my paramour reside” I hear you ask?  The fair island of Jamaica of course!  And “What was my lover’s name” you counter?  Appleton - lovely Appleton I reply: sweet, forgiving, honest and true. [Sigh!]

Too be honest – I’m not sure that my lover even knew my name – a beautiful object of desire for so many and truth be told, I think Pauline was smitten as well and who could blame her really?

A Christmas run for the sun was always very much on the cards.  A particularly tough last few months of 2009 left me beaten and broken.  I was a spent husk of a man, with a strong desire to get away from the UK (permanently – ideally) and somewhere where I could feel the sun on my skin and hear the sound of the sea lapping at the shore.  There are so many places in the world I want to visit, but the Caribbean was due a trip and while three, four or more places could have easily ticked all the right boxes, it was time to head to a land where rum is as much a part of the very fabric of life as breathing.  A land of more than just one rum manufacturer and a variety of brands, but truly a land of one love...

I’ll be honest, the first part of the holiday, was little more than lazing around - recharging my batteries, attempted rip off’s and the over bearing ‘all-inclusive’ rabble I quickly came to despise.  Of course, as with anything there are good and bad experiences to be had and I’m pleased to say that the Sandals resort we stayed at in Mo-Boy had plenty of plus points as well.  It was here that Red Rum (Appleton Special) became an integral part of our day-to-day life and I’m pleased to say that the tension that had wracked my body for the last month and half of 2009 finally melted away.

It’s a strange thing – a normal working day will probably see me come home and make a drink, which of course leads to another and probably another and will perhaps end with something nice to finish off.  And, 10 years ago – an all-inclusive would have actually been a personal challenge to imbibe/sink/quaff a proper skin-full.  The days of attempting to run up a daily $100 bar bill in beer and cocktails are long behind me.  Now it seems that once a couple of days of excess are behind me, the pace of life and natural beauty of the Caribbean no longer demand the toll fare of being drunk all day!  The confines of a tourist resort become a prison of sorts and with a desire to see more – we break free and head off to the south, with a rather taxi exciting ride to Jake’s Resort on Calabash Bay and a more positive Jamaican vibe.

Straight away the place feels different and we adopt a different mindset – still no rushing around, but the chance to feel ‘part of’ rather than ‘just catered for’ gave me a more comfortable feeling.  Simple things give us immense joy – an informal bite to eat down at Jack Spratt’s was made all the better when we notice that ’flasks’ – small bottles - of rum can be purchased and so Pauline and I settle down to a fantastic (possibly the best ever) fried fish, rice and peas with cold red stripe, flask of rum and a coke to mix it just how we like it... the sun shining and the rhythm of dance hall caressing the ears – heaven on earth – I defy anyone to say different!

The ‘rum’ focus was slightly upset by the fact that whilst a flask (small 300ml’ish bottle) was JA$450 (about £3.50’ish) – a bottle of Smir*&%f v#dka was the same!  How many times at the bar did we hear people asking for a vodka and coke?  Dougie (of Dougies Bar) might have done his best to attempt to steer the punter to a rum based beverage, but even in the land of Rum – some people just can’t break free of the norm.  A shame really given the location.  I tried to convert – and perhaps the odd one or two heeded my word, but mostly the call to arms fell on deaf ears.

I started out by mentioning Appleton as being a lover – I joke of course... well just a bit.  The opportunity to drink good rum at a great price was something I hoped to take full advantage of.  The strange thing for me was that whilst I expected the shelves of the bar to be loaded with fined, aged Jamaican rum – I was actually met with nothing older than VX.  Nothing wrong with VX – the volume we consumed over the two weeks will pay testament to that, but I really hoped to end the night with a glass of the 12 year old or perhaps something older still.  Denied!  At every turn – how strange?

I guess I must be the first to admit that we didn’t actually end up travelling very far from our cottage – ‘Seahorse Down’ at Jakes.  Somewhere as comfortable as Jake’s meant that travel was unnecessary really.  We did have a few trips out – Pelican bar was sublime in its ramshackle, totally surrounded by water, lobster dinner kind of way and the other tourist trips/traps neither improved the vacation or spoilt it – Black River and YS Falls (yeah – no worries).

Of course the highlight was to be a run to the Appleton Estate – a tour of the facilities in which one can feel the reality of volume rum production.  Good fun as it was, even here in the home of rum – I still couldn’t get a drink of a good aged expression of the noble sprit – nothing outside of a bottle older than VX.  Don’t get me wrong – to purchase a bottle for consumption would have been easy and inexpensive, but it just seemed inappropriate.  The bottle of 12 year old we picked up (for not a lot of money when compared to the UK) remained unopened – a passenger in our suitcase, to be liberated and enjoyed once home.

Not only this, but a bottle of Reserve, Master Blenders Legacy and Exclusive Estate Edition all contributing to the 'overweight' penalty, but well worth every penny.

These special purchases made it back safely to the UK and now form a special place in the collection – all opened and enjoyed, some might stay tucked away out of sight to preserve their longevity, but some will be enjoyed in the manner that they should be and so if friends or family want a taste, then I advise that you find an excuse to visit sooner rather than later!

A glass of Master Blenders Legacy resides on the desk in front of me – easily so much more full of flavour than just about the entirety of the rest of our collection.  I lift the glass in a silent toast to the beautiful land of Jamaica and feel that life - it irie!