Around the World in 20 Drinks: Trinidad and Tobago

There's something to be said for excess. After all, why have a bag of crisps when you can have two, or a 'normal' sandwich when you can cut a loaf of bread in half and stick a block of cheese in the middle? That being said, the phrase 'NOT LESS THAN 75% ALCOHOL' might be a bit much for most of us to handle.

Puncheon rum is the favourite of Trinidad's hefty boozers, thanks to its... well, its 75% abv-ness. We think that might have something to do with it. Word is that the stuff smells like rubbing alcohol, and drinking it feels a bit like having your mouth set alight. We're intrigued, but it turns out it's a light rum and we prefer the dark stuff, so we might give it a miss. Yes. That's our reason.

Now for something slightly more palatable: Peanut Punch. Take peanut butter and sugar, add some cinnamon and nutmeg, blitz the whole lot up with some condensed milk, and bam! Heart attack waiting to happen. If that sounds too sweet, why not try adding some angostura bitters, or a handful of granola mix? Genuinely, this is a thing that exists.

Also a thing that exists is malta, the beer for kids. Malta is basically a non-alcoholic soft drink, designed to have all the yeasty flavour of a refreshing beer without any of the point. It's unfermented, but has all the barley and hops that you're used to. It looks like a pint of Guinness, but you can have one sitting in front of your boss with your lunch without being fired or slapped. It lets you pretend to be a big boy, basically. And if it's a choice between that, death rum or diabetes juice, we know which one we're picking.

In a related article: Our Food Editor samples the World's Most Expensive Rum.