Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine January 2020 | Page 208

The Emporium
I visited the Emporium last
December to purchase my own
Guavabery rum for Christmas.
Once there, I was intrigued to
find out more about it, how it
is made and what the secrets
are behind the Guavaberry
success. I’m ashamed to say that
although I have visited once
or twice before, this was the
first time in the over 18 years I
have been calling St. Maarten
home, that I really took my time
and got to know more about
So, the old folk here on
St. Maarten used to mix
rum, cane sugar and the
Guavaberries, which grow
on the island, and are not
to be mistaken with Guava.
The bottled Guavaberry
mixture was then stored
in dark places around the
house so that the sun would
not affect the taste of the
drink. Between you and me,
I think they were just hiding
it so no one would sip from
it before Christmas. The
bottles would be brought
out around Christmas time
to be shared with family and
friends. The longer the bottle
was stored, the stronger the
Guavaberry taste and the
more potent the drink, or so
the Guavaberry legend goes.
Although the Guavaberry
trees can be found in several
places in the Caribbean, it is
believed that St. Maarten/
St. Martin has been blessed
with a concentration of them,
mostly up in the hills in the
center of the island. It is no
wonder that Guavaberry,
the drink, has stepped out
of its traditional duty as
the Christmas drink of the
island, to becoming the
National drink of St. Maarten.
Thanks to the Guavaberry
Emporium, it is now known
internationally as well and
being available all year round
and not just at Christmas
anymore.
the Guavaberry brand. Call it
writer’s curiosity. I am a known
procrastinator who leaves
things for the last minute, so my
previous visits to the Emporium
were all mad dashes for last-
minute gifts for whichever friend
I was visiting abroad. Yes, the
Guavaberry mini bottles are the
preferred go-to souvenirs from
St. Maarten.
The Guavaberry store is
a beautiful building on
Frontstreet, in the heart of
Philipsburg, the capital of Dutch
St. Maarten. It was built in
St. Maarten’s traditional
Gingerbread style, with the
actual rum drums used for
storing the drink, neatly lined
up outside the building. I have
taken countless photos in
front of it and make it a part of
the itinerary whenever I show
visitors around the island.
But I have always seen it as
something for tourists, and not
particularly for us locals. How
wrong I was.