On a balmy afternoon with the promise of rain (there was in fact a sprinkle, quickly forgotten), the confines of the Grog Shoppe proved the ideal setting for Jamaicans to renew – and in some cases initiate – their relationship with the ‘spirit of the Caribbean’.

Rum and its plant source, sugar cane, have been an integral part of the history of this basin for nearly four centuries, so a festival of Caribbean rums in Jamaica (following on the heels of our neighbour St Lucia) was certainly an inevitability.

“Rum is the number one spirit in the Caribbean,” says Tom Tyler of Caribbean Producers (CPJ) primary sponsors of the event. “And we are really committed to taking rum to the next level and in so doing giving consumers the level of choice they are demanding.

Part of answering those demands lies in a multi-faceted agreement between CPJ and National Rums (which itself incorporates interests from KRB Leas’s Barbados’ Goddard and Guyana’s Demerara) with respect to the new Port Royal line of rums, which were on show at the festival. The new product held its own in terms of taste, but will need to make some advances in respect of the packaging and labelling in order to command attention at the upper end of the market.

More ideally positioned in that regard were the premium rums from Trinidad’s Angostura (already justly world renowned for its Bitters). The company’s 1919 and 1824 brands (notably the latter) have both hte looks and character to go the distance.

Similarly, the 12-, 15- and 21-year-old rums on the El Dorado brand that form Demerara Rums represent a first-class drinking experience (the 21-year-old label says ‘made for contemplative sipping’ and we were really looking for a contamplative spot – we settled for the courtyard). The Demerara company also represents what to this writer’s mind was the find of the festival: the Brinley Gold line of flavoured rums from the Brinley family estate in St Kitts. When the vanilla, coffee, mango and coconut hit local shelves over the next few weeks, they should find plenty of willing takers.

Not to be outdone, the spice isle of Grenada presented the Clarke’s Court line, which included a spicy rum that left an invigorating tingle on the palate, matched only by the smoothness of its liqueur companion.

The Caribbean rum journey also takes in Barbados, home to the self-professed oldest rum in the world, Mount Gay, via Antigua, represented on this occasion by English Harbour, Puerto Rico through the world-renowned Bacardi, and back to Jamaica and the iconic Myer’s Dark. The Myer’s booth was a hub of constant activity, with the personnel talking up the product and serving up iced mixes incorporating the entire range. A similar hubbub took place at the Sangster’s booth and – at various times – all the stands as well as for Jacwui Tyson’s demonstration of flambé cooking towards the end of the afternoon.

The appetite for a variety of drinks and spirit brands does appear to be growing.

And the organisers are intent on feeding that appetite. Coming soon: a week-long rum-tasting event with blind taste tests of a similarly wide variety of rum brands, as well as workshops and presentations from international as well as Jamaican experts.

Down the line, there is anticipation for a Top Ten Rums of the World extravaganza in a similarly appealing setting.

The sea keeps us apart, but the ‘spirit’ brings us together – more together at least – than any of the other Caribbean ‘institutions’ thus far.