|
|
All About Drinking in BelizeWe drink. Because, on one of our pages, we said that we're born-again Christians, some people assume that we don't drink. The two are not necessarily connected. I like to say "Jesus drank until the day he died, and I probably will, too." Just like Music & Sex, Satan uses alcoholic drinks to his own devices. That doesn't mean we have to give up music, sex or alcohol. We just have to enjoy it in moderation and we do.Belizeans. Alcohol is an integral part of life here for most Belizeans who are not members of a religious cult which forbids it. A lot of Belizeans have a weakness for alcohol, and we occasionally theorize that this is connected with the fact that most of those in BelizeNorth have an Indian heritage and Indians are "notorious" for their inability to handle liquor. (A lot of bars in Arizona refuse to serve Indians.) However, that may be a totally racist observation. I have a lot of Indian (i.e. "native American") blood, and I don't seem to have any problem saying no to another drink. Causes aside, the fact is, a lot of Belizeans don't like to stop drinking until the beer or liquor is gone. That means that, once they start partying, they party HARD until they pass out or run out.Gringos. As a general rule, Gringos have a bad reputation here for drinking. That's because the most public Gringos are the ones who sit around in a bar and drink. They constitute a minority, but a visible one. In fact, most gringos, if they drink at all, drink at home like we do. Drinking for us is incidental to all the other things we do, but it is fun, and an integral part of our life in Belize, so I thought I'd tell you a little bit about the things we (collectively) drink here.Beer. Mexico is really a great place to drink beer. They have a dozen good brands, and all of the beer is cold and cheap! Belize, OTOH, has Belikin! Bowen & Bowen has a monopoly on Coca-Cola, and they darn near have a monopoly on Beer. They deliver it to your house for 38 dollah a case. You can't bring any beer across the border, and all the foreign beers you buy here are exorbitantly expensive. Belikin is $2.25-2.50 dollah a bottle, and it's ubiquitous. (i.e. everywhere.) I think it is a remarkably good beer for the hot climate. The bottle is a little small (284 ml. or under 10 oz.) and it goes down fast. I think it tastes most like Rolling Rock -- an enormously popular Pennsylvania beer -- but it's not too far from Coors, which is, after all, the most popular beer sold in almost every market where it is sold. Belikin is exported to the first world, but the export beer is not as good as the local, in my opinion. B&B also make a Stout and their own species of Guinness (they license the name) if you like dark beers.Rum. Rum is made from sugar, and that's something Belize has a lot of! The rum is varied, but very little of it is aged the way famous Caribbean rums like Capt. Morgan and Myers Dark are aged. The white rum makes a remarkably good mixer. The premium mixer here is Caribbean White, made by Cuellos in Orange Walk. It generally sells for about 9 dollah for a 750 ml bottle, or 12 dollah a litre. This is about $6US for a mixer which compares very favorably with Vodka selling for 50% more in the US. The most common drink sold is Rum & Coke with a slice of lime -- the famous "Cuba Libre". Rum & Tonic is an excellent drink -- the Tonic here is tinted pink, which fades if the bottle is left in the sun. (So you can't buy it off the truck -- you have to go to the distributor to get it!!) An R&T is complimented by a slice of the best lime you every tasted -- the one in your back yard!!Tequila. When we first got here, Tequila (bought in Mexico) was reasonable, but there has been a disease attacking the Blue Agave and Tequila prices have almost doubled. It is almost never imported into Belize, and I don't know why. We can bring it across the border one litre at a time, but it is very expensive. We bring Kailua instead, which is still reasonable.Scotch. Scotch is terribly expensive here, because it is taxed heavily. The local importers are protected by Customs so that you can't legally bring any Scotch into Belize. [This is STUPID -- what they should do is let you bring it in but charge a big tariff and pay part of it to the importers. I will discuss this more fully in a economic discourse one of these days.] We used to buy Scotch in the free zone for wonderful prices, but now that we're residents we can't do that. So, we've learned to do well with an alternative...Smooth Rum. There are several golden rums here. They are generally called "colored" and they are variously aged. The best known -- "One Barrel" from Travelers in Belize City -- has a cinnamon flavor which took me some getting used to. My choice for smooth drinking also comes from Travelers, has a nondescript blue and yellow label and is called "Superior Old Rum". It costs $11 dollah a bottle, (actually less than One-Barrel, which is $12) and is hard to find. We buy it here in Corozal from Reyes by the case ($114 for 12 bottles) and we have converted a lot of drinkers since we discovered it. It is strong enough to stand up to some soda, or you can drink it on the rocks or straight. Since it costs 'way less than Scotch, and is a Belizean product, we don't drink too much else.New: (November 2002) Traveler's shut off the supply of "Superior Old Rum," aged it some more, and came out with an elegantly packaged, very smooth rum called Heritage. Look for it at your local suppliers. We are drinking Duurly's "Parrot" Aged Rum because it is a lot less (about 16 dollah a litre.) I think it is the best local sipping rum in Belize, but I'm not very important!Favorite Drinks. In the course of traveling around, I have discovered some favorite drinks and I will share the recipe with you. If you come down here, I will fix you one!!.
1 Shot Caribbean White1/2 Shot Kailua.(Optional) 2 Shots of Cream or Milk. (Oohh! This is good, and good for you, too!!)
2 Oz Caribbean White1/2 Shot Lime SquashJuice of 1/2 Lime (Kills the sweetness of the lime squash)Note: Lime squash is made here in Belize. It is very much like Rose's Lime Juice, only a lot fresher. It may keep better than Rose's, but I wouldn't know, since we use a bottle up in six months or so.
2 Oz of Cheap Gold Tequila (Don't waste the Jose Gold on this one)1/2 Shot Lime Squash1/2 Shot Triple Sec (we have a lot of trouble getting this)In the States they blend this and serve it frozen. Here in the tropics, the blended things tend to thaw very quickly. Take it on ice, and savor the chill!!
2 Oz of Coconut Rum2 Oz of Pineapple JuiceLester calls this a "Pahnty Reeppah" and he says it with a big grin (see below). It is a sweet drink and one goes a long way. We won't go into the semantics of the name. Coconut Rum is REALLY expensive in the States -- it's about 16 dollah here.
Moisten the rim of the glass with triple sec, and dip in a saucer of salt to coat the rim of the glass. Fill the glass with ice and pour the ingredients without disturbing the rim. The salt makes the grapefruit taste sweeter.About Lester. Lester Sawers (He pronounces it like it was Sawyers) is our good friend and financial consultant. He knows all about Belizean, Mexican and American money, as well as a host of other important things, like "How to Cook Gibnut", or "How to make Guacamole taste good". He was my nemesis in one of my fishing stories, but we have since made up. <grin> He showed me how to cut up conch so that it isn't tough. (Click here to see that.) He drinks ONLY Caribbean White because you don't get a hangover.
Need help with your drink mixing? Check The Webtender.
|
This page and all pages on this website are Copyright, CASELab, Inc. 1989-1999, 2000, Sr_Ric 2001-2008. See Copyright Details. All rights reserved. |
