Cocktail – Parrot’s Head Punch
Vodka, passion fruit, watermelon, cranberry, pink grapefruit
Date Visited – Apr 2016
Daytripper from St Martin, waved through at Gustavia with my EU passport, might not be the case for much longer! Located the bar pretty quickly but 10am was a tad early for cocktails, popped in to check the opening times though before exploring the town and Shell Beach. The bar is famous for its cheeseburger, the subject of the Jimmy Buffett song, Cheeseburger in Paradise. It’s separate to the bar, located outside where most of the customers choose to sit, including me, but then I re-located inside once I’d lined my stomach. They don’t serve the cocktail, never have according to Francois, and it couldn’t be made on request as this very basic bar was not one to stock watermelon juice. I had a rum punch first, then consulting the menu ordered a Town Driver, a punch with vodka float, a more appropriate choice as the Parrot’s Head Punch is vodka based.
At first this bar seemed uneventful. You can tell it’s frequented by regulars, there were lone mature Frenchmen on either side of me, one very smiley one who was most disappointed by the language barrier. The message was communicated to the bartender that he wanted to buy me a drink, so along came punch number 3, a Ti punch this time, and €15 was passed to the bartender, settling my bill! Thank you flirty Frenchman! At this point I’m very much under the French influence and make the mistake of ordering wine. With my struggling French I was glad to be joined by some Spanish speaking Dominicans, a language I’m un poquito mas comfortable with, it wasn’t about the conversation with these two Bachateros though, I was ready to get my groove on! Our phones were handed across the bar to be plugged into the sound system, and Nelson was dragged from the comfort of his bar stool for more than one dance. Mi gusta Bachata, so I don’t take no for an answer, very bad dance etiquette! Rewarded with yet another drink, this time whiskey and against my objections! A shift change behind the bar led to a Bourbon discussion with bartender Max, then I mixed up my own Old Fashioned using JD, bitters and Orgeat syrup. Far more drinkable, and Max agreed. With a boat to catch, postcards to post, and Poppy’s boutique to locate it was time to leave. A little worse for wear I headed to the port, falling asleep on the return journey and staggering to my nearby French/Dutch hotel. Ooh la la, Le Select a été très mouvementée!
The World Is My Cocktail 