Thursday Food is in Drapers, Portland, at the famous Woody’s Burgers with Miss Cherry. Top of mind is her homemade ginger beer that isn’t on the menu! (If you know, you know. If you didn’t know, you’re welcome!) According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Jamaica has long had a global reputation for its excellent ginger — among the best in the world and known for its potency and pungency.

Miss Cherry has been making ginger beer from her own recipe for the last 25 years. Proudly “100% Portland ginger, no preservatives … only a little dark sugar”. She makes it, tastes it, until she’s satisfied. Store: refrigerated.

Fun Fact: Miss Cherry’s Ginger beer is bottled in recycled rum bottles, usually 750ml. Miss Cherry buys freshly harvested ginger from the market in Port Antonio from a farmer known to some as “Bibby”, others as “Sister Charles” or just Barbara. Miss Cherry says that she doesn’t buy ginger to simply put down. She buys two pounds at a time. “It’s freshly harvested and freshly made,” she informs. When asked about the type of ginger used we’re told that there are two types that she usually sees in the market – the one that cuts yellow, and the other that looks “whitish”. Miss Cherry buys the “one that cuts yellow” for her special ginger beer!

But let’s go back to the farmer. Born, raised and educated in Portland, Barbara Charles started farming in 1999, and sells vegetables and produce — vegetables, ripe bananas, plantain, coco, yam, and of course ginger for just over six years. The farm can be found in New Road district, in the St Margaret’s Bay area.

“Those who know me from school call me Bibby, those from church call me Sister Charles or Barbara,” she states. For her, what is special about ginger is “how you go about it. You don’t have to water it, but you have to keep it clean by weeding out, by hand. Also, there are no pesticides, or herbicides used in my farming process. This is a Roundup-free farm. I learned that if you plant in May, you can reap in March of the following year – if you dig it too soon it will be young. When the tree dry down, that’s when it’s ripe.”

Miss Cherry recently celebrated her 75th birthday and her 52nd wedding anniversary with husband Charles Woodrow Cousins. The two met while working in the hotel industry in Portland. Miss Cherry says that they would meet guests, take them to their home, feed them and show them “some Jamaica life!” Woody’s was the result of them becoming empty nesters. “Once the children were grown (together they share a blended family of seven children) we started to do a lot of little things… Woody’s Burgers opened May 1986 some 35 years ago,” she explained.

This last year has understandably severely impacted businesses like Woody’s. It has not been seeing as many guests and has like many, been forced to reduce its days and hours of operation. Through it all, though, it is still standing and continues to support the local farmers in the market!

Naturally, we left with a couple of bottles for some at-home mixology. There’s so much you can do with ginger beer, like make a traditional Moscow mule. Or the globally recognised Dark and Stormy; in Jamaica we say rum! This is a combination of ginger beer, lime juice, lots of ice, and rum. Miss Cherry’s Ginger Beer lends itself to this type of cocktail. By itself it is subtly sweet, light, and juicy, and has that spicy kick of ginger on the end. Give the bottle a good shake to break up all the gingery goodness that settles at the bottom of the bottle and redistribute that over the liquid before pouring! Start with a tall glass. Add lots of ice! Then squeeze half a lime over the ice and mix in a tablespoon or more of @orijinlife organic blue agave raw syrup (depends on how sweet you want it). Add a cup of ginger beer. Then stir in shots of rum. For this I used @appletonestateja 8-Year-Old Reserve Single Estate Jamaica Rum, a more premium profile than the well-known Reserve Blend. The 8-year-old is a masterful reboot that is rich, full-bodied, and leggy. Though it shares similar characteristics, it’s smoother, more complex, and more sophisticated than the former reserve blend, and every drop has been aged for a minimum of eight years in oak barrels. It boasts more intense flavours, spicy fruit aromas, hints of honey, vanilla, holiday spice, and orange peel notes. This rum is the perfect anchor transforming ordinary drinks into extraordinary cocktails.

If you go to Woody’s Burgers and the ginger beer is finished. The rum punch is a good option. When times were different and patrons were seen in their numbers, one could sit and enjoy a bottle or cup of Miss Cherry’s Rum Punch. You can now purchase but for takeaway only. On trips like these I always have a cooler with ice and glassware. Miss Cherry will sell you a drink even if you bring your own glassware. How novel!

Woody’s Burgers

Address: Lowbridge Place

Drapers District between Turtle Harbour and Frenchman’s Cove,

Port Antonio PO

Opening hours: 12:00 noon – 6:00 pm.

Closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Let’s lift your spirits! Find and follow me on Instagram @raihndrops