By the Caribbean Journal staff

It was a strong star for the first-ever edition of the Martinique Rhum Awards.

The new rum festival, the brainchild of world-famous beach bar proprietor Guy Ferdinand and the Rum Embassy, featured a week of high-level rum events (including a popular bartending competition) and a panel of judges who rated more than 100 rums from around Martinique, Guadeloupe and the world.

The festival, which concluded with a “Rum Village” on the beach in Carbet and a gala dinner at Trois Ilets’ La Suite Villa restaurant, aims to celebrate what is the most famous export of the French Caribbean department.

So what about the winners?

The biggest winner was Martinique’s Rhum HSE, which took home the crown for the Rhum Agricole Extra Vieux category for its HSE XO rum.

Other winners included La Mauny, which took home the crown for the top 55-degree white rum; Rhum Dillon for the top rum of between 3 and 6 years of age; and the celebrated boutique distillery A1710, which won for its A1710 Renaissance white rum in the non-AOC category and the top molasses rum of 3-12 years.

See the full list of winners below:

White Rhum Agricole AOC Martinique 55%

La Mauny 50%, Martinique

White Rhum Agricole AOC Martinique 55+

Rhum Dillon 55, Martinique

White Rhum Agricole non-AOC up to 55%

Rhum A1710 Renaissance, Martinique

White Rhum Agricole non-AOC 55+

Pere Labat 59%, Guadeloupe

Rhum Agricole AOC Martinique from 3 to 6 years

Dillon VSOP, Martinique

Rhum Agricole non-AOC 4 years and up

Rhum Karukera Black Edition Alligator, Guadeloupe

Molasses Rum 3 to 12 Years

A1710 Soleil de Minuit, Martinique

Rhum Agricole AOC Martinique 6 years and up

HSE XO, Martinique

Molasses Rum 12 years and up

Plantation Rum Jamaica 2005

Rhum Agricole AOC Martinique Cask Strength

Trois Rivieres Cask Strength 2006

Rhum Agricole non-AOC cask strength

MHOBA Rum Select Reserve French Cask Rum, South Africa

Molasses Rum Cask Strength

Riviere du Mat 2006 (Cuvee of the Confrerie du Rhum), Reunion

The post The First-Ever Martinique Rhum Awards Were a Big Hit appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

It’s been a busy month for what has become one of the hottest luxury hotel markets in the Caribbean: Turks and Caicos.

The recent sale of late music legend Prince’s former villa in Providenciales has been followed up by an $11.5 million sale on Long Bay Beach.

Triton Luxury Villa, above (All photos by Jeremy Austin).

The sale “speaks to investor confidence in our luxury beachfront confidence,” said Ian Hurdle, managing partner of The Agency Turks and Caicos, which handled the sale.

Hurdle told Caribbean Journal there was a current market trend of properties selling at “consistently higher price points,” mentioning the Prince sale and a pending closing at Beach Enclave Grace Bay for more than $9 million.

All in all, the second quarter saw $85 million in closed transactions in Turks and Caicos.

“We are seeing investors flocking to our shores who recognize the value that our contemporary beach front product offers versus the rest of the Caribbean and who love the symbiosis our low-density luxury lifestyle in tandem with our friendly Island community and of course east coast accessibility,” Hurdle said.

The sale of Triton Luxury Villa is the highest recorded sale price for any MLS transaction in Turks and Caicos since 2015, and the highest-ever sale in the area of Long Bay.

The ultramodern seven-bedroom, six-bathroom villa has a total of 12,727 square feet.

It’s another example of the growing prestige of Long Bay, largely made famous by the recent debut of the ultra-luxe Shore Club Turks and Caicos, already one of the Caribbean’s leading resorts.

It was also Hurdle himself’s second record sale, following the sale of the Mothershouse on Cherokee Road in Provo in 2017.

Overall. the $11.5 million sale was the seventh-largest recorded sale in the history of Providenciales.

The post Turks and Caicos Luxury Villa Sells for $11.5 Million appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

A top Caribbean music festival is back in Saint Lucia this summer with the return of Mercury Fest.

The beach music party, produced by Epic Events, is one of the region’s most anticipated summer festivals.

This year’s fete will be headlined by Jamaican reggae and dancehall artists Wayne Wonder and Kranium, who will be joined by Dennery Segment Megastars- Black Boy, Cooyah and Umpa.

A lineup of top DJs from Saint Lucia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago and St Maarten will also be on hand.

“Last year the event welcomed foreign nationals from Martinique, France, the United States, Trinidad, Dominica, Guadeloupe, the UK, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic and we look forward to welcoming all the visitors who will grace our shores during the action-packed weekend,” said Christopher Gustave, Marketing Manager for Caribbean and Events at the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority.

This year’s event will include even more beach amenities, including waterfront cabanas and an expanded foam pit, among others.

“Mercury Fest is proving to be an ultimate experience that has exposed its true potential as a major visitor attraction. With hoteliers, taxi and tour operators as well as vendors who directly benefit from the economic activity of this event eagerly awaiting its staging, we anticipate that this mega event will continue to progress as a global attraction, placing even more spotlight on Saint Lucia as the events capital of the Caribbean,” said Saint Lucia Tourism Minister Dominic Fedee.

— CJ

The post Saint Lucia’s Must-Visit Summer Music Festival appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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