Posted By Tom W. on Jan 14, 2015 in Beach Bar Bums, Things That Don't Suck | 4 comments

Tagged: rum, tiki bar, travel

Winters aren’t easy on beach bar bums. In fact, they’re downright horrible. They’re gray, cold, dreary and any other descriptor you can come up with that portrays a general state of malaise. With very few fleeting moments to make note of, winter sucks.

So what is a beach bar bum to do to get through the haziness of winter until the fog is lifted with the onset of the springtime sun? Luckily for you, I have the answers, or at least hope I do, to this question and I’m going to share them with you in the hope that they make your winter a little less sucky.

Hit the Road
While it’s not always an option due to the cost, travelling to warmer climes is the obvious answer. They don’t have to be weeklong getaways. Go somewhere for the weekend or just start driving south until you get to someplace warm and sunny. Any trips you can take to shorten the winter season will lessen the chances of you completely losing your sanity.

Beach Bar Meets Tiki Bar
Tiki bars are like mini tropical vacations. Saunter into a good one and you’ll instantly be transported back to days of the original “Hawaii Five-0” and the infamous Brady Bunch two part Hawaii episode (a TV classic, by the way). Order the most over the top tropical fruity umbrella drink you can find and sit back as your winter doldrums melt away with each sip. That’s what I’m doing this weekend as we head to Chicago to visit Three Dots and a Dash (they have a Ti Punch!) and try to kick down the doors at the brand new Lost Lake. If only we could party with Marcia Brady ….

Run to Rum
If there’s any spirit that represents the Caribbean and our favorite beach bars, it’s rum so find it, consume it and party like a pirate. I was invited to attend a rum sampling (special thanks to Oak & Alley, Cognac Ferrand and Plantation Rum) and jumped at the opportunity. With each different rum I sampled (Plantation 3 Stars is the shizzle – head to your nearest liquor store and buy every bottle they have), I took a virtual step closer to my favorite beach bars and even forgot to eat my cheeseburger. I never pass up eating a cheeseburger but that’s how much free rum means to me. Plus, after five or six samples of liquor, I may have just forgot it was even there.

Posing my ti punch at Karakter Beach Bar in St. Maarten. If you’ve ever had one, you’ll understand the need for the ice cubes.

Read My Blog
Come on. You didn’t think I was going to write this article and not throw in a shameless self-plug, did you? Read my blog and follow any of my social media sites. You’ll see plenty of pretty pictures of someplace warmer and at the very least be able to criticize my questionable writing skills. “Did he just skip all of his English classes in high school?” It’s a fair question to ask. If you can’t stand meandering through my missives, check out the following sites for more tropical escapes (and much better writing and photography):

Rum Shop Ryan – If you can’t warm up from browsing Ryan’s site, you have a cold cold soul, my friend.
Caribbean Soul Trekkers – My newest buddies and bloggers extraordinaire. Let Mango Eddie and Passionfruit Sista take you on a virtual journey through the Caribbean.
Rum Therapy – Their writing and photography skills make my blog look like a kindergartener put it together. And that’s an insult to six year olds.
Uncommon Caribbean – You know about the popular spots in the Caribbean. Find out about the not-so-popular spots from the brothers Bennett.
Rum Connection – Mike discusses rum, rum and rum.
Bahama Bob’s Rum Styles – There are rum experts and then there’s Bahama Bob. He’s the man.
Old Mango – You won’t find any better images that represent the Virgin Islands that William’s site and you’ll hate him for having the dream job you always wanted.