The Friendly Island recognized for having the “Best Caribbean Distillery” and more
NEW YORK, USA – St Maarten received seven distinctions in USA Today’s 2019 Ten Best Caribbean Readers’ Choice Awards. The Friendly Island and several of its stakeholders were acknowledged across six categories, including “Best Island for Romance,” “Best Caribbean Restaurant” (Bistrot Caraïbes and Emilio’s) and “Best Caribbean Attraction” (Rainforest Adventures). The island was nominated for each list by Melanie Reffes and Chelle Walton, two journalists who specialize in the Caribbean.
St Maarten’s Topper’s Rhum Distillery received the first-place honor on this year’s “Best Caribbean Rum Distillery” list, beating out some of the world’s most famous rum brands such as Bacardi, Brugal, Appleton Estate, Angostura, Cruzan, Mount Gay and Barbancourt.
Topper and Melanie Daboul live on the Dutch or southern side of St Maarten where they started making all natural flavored rhums (the French spelling of rum) for their restaurants so that they could give a complimentary after dinner drink to their guests. These rhums are based on Melanie’s concoctions that she has been perfecting since 1994. The customers fell in love with their creations and it instantly became a commercial success. This year, the judges also fell in love with the popular concoctions, awarding Topper’s Rhum Distillery first place for “Best Caribbean Rum Distillery.”
