The long weekend is upon us! No, I don't mean Victoria Day, and I don't mean Memorial Day ... I'm talking 'bout Bermuda Day! There will be parades, beach parties, barbecues, gombeys, boat raft-ups, and many many drinks. Most of the drinks will have rum in them. Most of the rum will be Gosling's Black Seal.
My family moved to Bermuda in 1998, and it has felt like home ever since. No matter how long I am away, landing in Bermuda and walking off of the plane, feeling the humidity hit me like a wall and the sun instantly start baking my skin - it is so familiar. Then, getting in a taxi and speeding along the narrow, winding roads (driving on the left side, mind you!), that takes no getting used to. But, finally reaching the top of a hill, the view of that turquoise ocean always takes my breath away. It is truly stunning. Of course, living there, it wasn't all rosy all the time - I had the same struggles and issues that most kids have growing up, sometimes there are hurricanes, the winter is colder than you would expect, and sometimes Bermuda starts to feel like a teeny tiny isolated rock in the middle of the ocean and you just must get off of it, but I know I was so lucky to experience what this tiny, beautiful island has to offer. The freshest fish imaginable, pink sand beaches, loooong hot summers on the water, sailing, swimming, paddling, cliff diving, and a culture centered on community, togetherness and celebration.
Speaking of celebration, let's get back to this rum we were talking about earlier. Gosling's Black Seal is the national spirit of Bermuda, and it is used for everything from barbecue sauce (yum), fish chowder (yum again) to the many many drinks also referred to earlier. My favorite of the many many drinks is the Dark & Stormy, which is actually the national drink of Bermuda. It is a heavenly mixture of rum (the dark) and ginger beer (the stormy) with a wedge of lime. Its spicy and sweet from the ginger beer, its got lovely dark caramelly notes from the rum, and the lime is there cause why not. It is thirst-quenching, refreshing, and definitely long weekend appropriate. Don't worry, the caramel corn recipe follows.
