Regarded as one of the most eco-friendly islands in the Caribbean, Cooper Island also features the Virgin Islands most extensive rum collection with roughly 280 on island and the rum festival afforded travelers and visitors to the island to sample some of the finest rums in the world.

This year the Cooper Island Rum Festival also aligned with the BVI Tourist Board and was included as part of the ongoing BVI Food Fete.

"We did so because we really wanted to support the local vendors, their businesses, to help them to try and get back on their feet," said Cooper Islands Beach Bar's General Operations Manager Meron Napier.

Many local vendors have been struggling since the devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017.

More local involvement

Napier noted that as they seek to improve the festival annually this year they were successful in making provisions for more locals to attend the event. "This year we are running a ferry trying to get more locals involved in getting them across because not everybody can pay for a private charter boat."

"So there is a lot more local influence this year and then the farmers, the fishermen, all the local businesses just all pulled together and made this event happen."

The local influence was made possible with the collaboration with Romasco Group of Companies, which saw two of their large boats filled with mainly persons residing in the territory attending the event.

Among the rum producers and distributors on spot with promotions and tasting were Callwood Distillery, Cooper Islands Rum Bar, Tico, Riteway- promoting Mount Gay, and BVI Gin.