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Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar in New Plymouth, Abacos. Modest, except the sign. |
“Home
of the Goombay Smash,” the sign proclaims outside the otherwise humble Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar
in New Plymouth,
Green Turtle Cay, Abacos BAHAMAS.
Yeah,
and nearly every Bahamian island claims “the best beaches” and seems half the
established Bahamian nightclubs swear they are the “Home of Rake
‘n Scrape” or “Home of” something. Shades of “Lake
Wobegon” Garrison Keillor’s wry closing “where all are the women are strong,
all the men are good looking, and all the kids are above average.” I took the Miss Emily claim, too with a
grain of salt.
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Behold, the Goombay Smash.
Note the U.S. $1 bill
– interchangeable in the Bahamas with Bahamanian
money.
|
As
my friend Marcie McReynolds drawls, “It ain't braggin’ if it’s true, my Gramma
always said.”
Is
it?
True,
according to Wikipedia. “Goombay Smash was created by Miss
Emily at the Blue Bee Bar in New Plymouth.” If you haven’t figured out that a
Goombay Smash is not a sport, an ethnic musical group (though Goombay is a form of
Bahamian music and a type of drum used to play it), or a state of being (though it may have that effect). It’s
an iconic (and delicious in my opinion) fruity-tasting Bahamanian cocktail, right up there
with a BVI “Painkiller” (click
here for more about that).
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Artist image of Miss Emily; a good likeness based
on the less whimsical
photo of her posted nearby.
|
Wolfgang,
crewing Andante, insisted on our stopping at Miss Emily’s, and generously
treated Ann (aka “Krazy Lady”), Andy (Andante’s captain) and me to a Goombay
Smash.
"Is
this place really the originator of the Goombay Smash?" I asked, noting I’d
tried one elsewhere. Yes, I was
told. “Was ours the best?” asked the
owner, daughter of the late Miss Emily.
Yes, it was, I assured her, touched that she’d care (especially given
the worst “Painkiller” I drank came from Soggy Dollar, its originating bar in
the BVIs). “The original recipe is a family secret,” she told us. Wikipedia concurs, and reveals “It is
believed to have contained coconut rum, dirty rum, apricot brandy, and pineapple juice;” way more
than our limited liquor supply supports.
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Junkanoo poster at Miss Emily’s gives another taste of Bahamanian culture |
If
you’d like to bring a little taste of the Bahamas home, here’s two Goombay
Smash recipes. Be forewarned, like
a Long Island Iced Tea there are as potent as they are smooth and refreshing.
Goombay
Smash (Drinkmixer’s)
1
oz spiced rum
1 oz Malibu® coconut rum
1/4 oz apricot brandy
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz orange juice
1 oz Malibu® coconut rum
1/4 oz apricot brandy
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz orange juice
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Wolfgang gets at taste of “our” (cruiser and tourist,
mostly from
Unites States and Canada) culture, festooning
the walls and ceiling throughout
Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar.
|
Goombay Smash (Bon Appetit’s)
Ice cubes
6 tablespoons pineapple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup Malibu rum or other
coconut-flavored rum
2 tablespoons light rum
2 tablespoons gold rum
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 pineapple wedges
2 orange slices
Even
if you’re not interested in partaking in a Goombay Smash, Miss Emily’s is worth
a wander just to take in many amusing mementos its customers leave (the “Sun
Your Buns: Sail Naked” bumper
sticker was my favorite).
Location Location
May
22, 2014 We arrived in Manatee Pocket Florida today from Great Sail, BAHAMAS (N26.59.098
W78.12.951); via overnight, 100+ mile sail. The day before we intended to make it to Double Breasted or
Grand Cay, but too Northerly winds and the desire to not run our motor into the
wind for two hours landed us at Great Sail instead. We were not alone; 20 boats anchored there, a popular
but boring jump off point between the States and the BAHAMAS. Indeed, yesterday was our last day in
the BAHAMAS. This post is a recent
retrospective of White Sound, New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, from a
week ago. Lots more photos and
stories still coming!!!
NICE article. I visited Miss Emily years ago in the 1980s.
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