What do you do with all of that rum you brought back from your Caribbean vacation? Here are some ideas from New York Daily News writer Julie Besonen, who recently returned from an island trip to St. Lucia. Besonen interviews Anthony Giglio, author of Cocktails in New York, who says, “The Cuba Libre nearly killed rum because of bartenders using shortcuts like Rose’s Lime instead of fresh lime, making it disgusting.”

The memorable drink Besonen brought back from Windjammer Landing in St. Lucia is the Naked Virgin.

2 ounces white rum
1/2 ounce triple sec
1 ounce cream of coconut
1 banana
Blend all ingredients with ice in a blender until smooth.

Garnish with a cherry.

Of course, the best way to handle this is to get down there and test them all for yourself. But if you can’t do that you can check out McKenna’s Guide to Caribbean Beers. Mark McKenna spent 10 years sampling the beers of various Caribbean nations and the result, besides several hangovers we presume, is this book.

Anna Creech at Blogcritics.org gave the book a tour and offers a short review.

The front inside cover of the book is a two page color map of the region, which was very handy to me, as I never learned the geography of the Caribbean. For each island, he reviews the breweries, brewpubs, and contract breweries, listing and describing the beers they make. He includes technical information whenever possible about the hops, the ingredients, the brewing process, and any export markets. The beers are rated on a scale from one beer to keg, and the ratings were determined by a group of beer aficionados, presumably friends of the author.

Caribbean beers is a topic we plan on returning to.