Gillman
06-16-2005, 12:03
I am in St. John's, Newfoundland for a conference but have some time to walk around. Nice older port town, mostly late-Victorian (rebuilt after a fire in 1892) despite its roots going back to the 1500's. Reminiscent too of certain New England towns, British provincial coastal cities such as Brighton or Portsmouth and certain Caribbean towns. Some of the old-style grocers and restaurants remind me of similar places in Britain or the Caribbean, e.g. the general store with its long-planked floor and variety of goods on sale and adjacent "common room". Locals speak an Irish-flavored English, apparently from the large Irish immigration here in the 1800's although I'm told Newfoundland has a number of regional accents. Some are influenced by a particular area having been settled by, say, the English (these English came mostly from Devon and Cornwall).
The main drinks are rum and beer. The liquor stores are well-stocked but there is little bourbon (just Wild Turkey, Jim Beam White Label, and Jack of course). Newfoundland is in fact rum central. They sell rum here which is marked 100 proof 57.1% abv. I.e., they are using the old British Sykes system (in U.S. proof this is 114, as a version of Old Grandad is). This is a remnant of Empire, of old British practices that still hang on in places like this. Charming old regional town, with more bars per square foot than I have seen anywhere else. Apparently in the bars at night there is old Celtic/British music and it is party party party. A lass in a liquor store told me the locals favor Lamb's rum, which comes in different shades, and rum from Jamaica (including Appelton) but there is rum here from many Caribbean and other countries. She said "professors and people like that" buy the expensive aged rums (read a smilicon here) and people who want the most bang for their buck buy the high proof rums, implying (politely) many of these are what we call in Canada rubbies. I hadn't made my selection yet but later chose two high proof rums so I could have tangible evidence that the old British Sykes proof system is alive and well in a part of remote Canada anyway. I don't (I think) look like a rubby but she saw me walk out with my choice and must have wondered why in heck I'd buy that. http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Gary
The main drinks are rum and beer. The liquor stores are well-stocked but there is little bourbon (just Wild Turkey, Jim Beam White Label, and Jack of course). Newfoundland is in fact rum central. They sell rum here which is marked 100 proof 57.1% abv. I.e., they are using the old British Sykes system (in U.S. proof this is 114, as a version of Old Grandad is). This is a remnant of Empire, of old British practices that still hang on in places like this. Charming old regional town, with more bars per square foot than I have seen anywhere else. Apparently in the bars at night there is old Celtic/British music and it is party party party. A lass in a liquor store told me the locals favor Lamb's rum, which comes in different shades, and rum from Jamaica (including Appelton) but there is rum here from many Caribbean and other countries. She said "professors and people like that" buy the expensive aged rums (read a smilicon here) and people who want the most bang for their buck buy the high proof rums, implying (politely) many of these are what we call in Canada rubbies. I hadn't made my selection yet but later chose two high proof rums so I could have tangible evidence that the old British Sykes proof system is alive and well in a part of remote Canada anyway. I don't (I think) look like a rubby but she saw me walk out with my choice and must have wondered why in heck I'd buy that. http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Gary