About Us

It was a sad day in 2020 when the world was locked down because of COVID and Bajan Canadians lost access to their homeland. This shut down limited our ability to be around family, to travel and have a regular life. Along with this lack of access, Bajan Canadians were deprived of their home away from home, the local Rum Shop.

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I, being the good second generation Bajan Canadian daughter, brought it upon myself to find the perfect solution. How to bring the scents, sounds and flavours of a Rum Shop to Toronto.

 

The answer to our dilemma is to take it upon ourselves and create what is not available. A Rum Shop in the heart of downtown Toronto featuring the delicacies of the land I call my second home!

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You might say I’m a bit of a fan of Bajan rum, I was able to treat my parents to a rum tour at the Mount Gay distilleries in Barbados and had my eyes widened to the deep rooted rich history of Mount Gay. My family had such a wonderful time and learnt so much about Bajan culture we had not known before. I had no idea until this moment that Mount Gay is the oldest rum distillery still operating.

 

In college I studied special event management and in my wine and beverage courses we were taught about the history and creation of wines, beers and spirits. Unfortunately, my professors did not talk about Barbados rum even once in our rum studies! And I wondered from that time forward, how can such an amazing taste sensation be omitted from the syllabus.

 

I have also found that many other Torontonians I’ve met, had no inkling of Bajan rums, but every time I introduce it to them, they are immediately big fans! They too have now become connoisseurs of Barbados’s famous amber liquid.

 

Yet I can’t help but think that there just aren't enough folks in Canada who know the bold, richness that comes from tasting the rums made in Barbados. There is a clear gap in the knowledge Canadians have of Barbados and Bajan culture and that it’s the oldest purveyor of fine rums in the world and I know that I am the one who can bridge this gap.

 

I bring to you, Rum Shop T.O.