The Rum Diary Golf Weekend
Puerto Rico & Beyond: Old San Juan to Fajardo to El Convento Beach to Vega Baja to Rincon to Viaques Island to St. Thomas
The ocean, a 1959 Corvette convertible, and Amber Heard in a little black dress... the dream we all dream.
(Photo by Peter Mountain © 2010 GK Films, Conde Nast Traveller)
Conde Nast Traveller, 2011
Golf options and other notes added by Fat Guy
Fat Guy Book Review: The Rum Diary is a fictionalized account of author Hunter S. Thompson's (Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas) time spent in San Juan Puerto Rico circa 1960. The main character is a vagabond writer named Paul Kemp who (barely) works at San Juan's English newspaper.
Rum Diary is a quick easy read and light on plot. Thompson paints some fun wacky characters (though sometimes two-dimensional), with a few action and sex scenes thrown in, and the story captures the feel of Puerto Rico in the late '50's nicely. There's an underlying theme of the 30-year-old Kemp's early mid-life struggles between his young man's wanderlust, a fledgling desire for creature comforts and stability, and the first cracks in his aging/death/legacy armor (a bit surprising in that Thompson was in his early-20's when he wrote it). Mostly it's about drinking with a renegade band of writers, sweating, and a mysterious sexy blonde (a buddy's girlfriend) he admires mostly from afar. It's readable, mostly well-written, and plenty entertaining, and you can easily see the beginnings of Thompson's gonzo style, but you can tell it was one of his early efforts.
Thompson told PBS talk show host Charlie Rose in 1999 that he had given up on his second novel written in 1962 because it had originally "bounced about seven times - I got the standard list of rejection letters - and I came back from South America and I got into the politics of the 60s and 70s, and it was a full time job." He then said that he revisited the book because "it's got a romantic notion...that and money.. and I was faced with the fact of having to dig out my 40-year old story...I can't change it, like, 'ye gods, this is me, this is the world I lived in'...so I approached it as a writer...it's a good story." [Wikipedia]
Johnny Depp became a close friend of Thompson's while playing him in the movie version of Fear And Loathing, and it was Depp who unearthed the unpublished book from a box in Thompson's basement in 1997. "'He didn't know where it was and I pulled it out and he was like, 'Jesus Christ'. We read it together at three in the morning and it was, 'We should do this together'," said Depp. The book was published in 1998, and Depp promised Thompson he would have it made into a movie. Johnny purchased the movie rights, and the project spent over 10 years in various stages of development (Hollywood... sheesh) before he finally got it made in 2010. Thompson committed suicide in 2005 and never got to see the film.
I always try to read the book before I see the movie (and haven't seen this movie yet), but from things I've read the movie takes some typical Hollywood liberties with the original story (one small example: In the first half of the book Kemp borrows a buddy's broken down jalopy to get around, then later he saves up and buys a used VW rag top... in the movie he drives a mint cherry red 1959 'Vette convertible).
The Rum Diary is a perfect beach read, and it'll give you the desired wanderlust to drink your way through Puerto Rico (someday).
Love and Loathing in Puerto Rico
Follow in the footsteps of Johnny Depp and The Rum Diary crew, and find the unspoilt corners of this Caribbean island
By Laura Fowler, Conde Nast Traveller
It sounds like an idyllic life: by day, working (but barely) on the local paper; by night, drinking rum in the beach bars, swaying to a Latin beat, on a Caribbean Island where the sun shines all year round.
Set in Puerto Rico in 1960, The Rum Diary opens with an unnaturally vivid blue sea and sky, and the mother of all hangovers in a trashed hotel room (sound familiar?). Johnny Depp plays a rookie reporter, loosely based on a young Hunter S. Thompson in this film inspired by the gonzo journalist, but there are shades of Withnail, too; the screenplay was written and the film directed by Bruce Robinson.
Shot on Super 16mm camera, the cinematography shows Puerto Rico - its beautiful coastline, its charming, candy-coloured buildings - at its photogenic best, with a kind of Fifties-picture-postcard feel. You will wish you were there, on its paradise beaches with warm, turquoise sea and palm groves and beach huts where the rum flows freely.
For travellers, it offers the Latin spirit along with the high standards of American hospitality. And now, since spring, you can get there on a direct flight from London with British Airways in 10 hours.
Old San Juan
Puerto Rico's beautiful old colonial capital is not unlike Havana, at least in terms of its cobbled streets and charming, candy-coloured, dilapidated apartments, with long windows through which the strains of salsa and jazz can be heard.
STAY & DRINK
Rum Diary's protagonist Paul Kemp spent some time drinking at the oceanfront Caribe' Hilton (www.caribehilton.com) in the book. The Caribe was the cornerstone of Puerto Rico's American-driven boom back in the '50's, and is still a grand upscale place to hang. Kemp also spent time at the Condado Beach Hotel, which is now called the San Juan Beach Hotel (www.sjubeach.com). Next door is La Concha (www.laconcharesort.com), an old school hotel/casino that was the setting for a few scenes in the book.
In the book, Kemp spends most of his time drinking at a makeshift backyard bar called Al's Backyard on Calle O'Leary in San Juan. One presumes it was either fictional or ceased to exist long ago.
An excerpt: "In the early Fifties, when San Juan first became a tourist town, an ex-jockey named Al Arbonito built a bar in the patio behind his house on Calle O'Leary. He called it Al's Backyard and hung a sign above his doorway on the street, with an arrow pointing between two ramshackle buildings to the patio in back.
At first he served nothing but beer, at twenty cents a bottle, and rum, at a dime a shot or fifteen cents with ice. After several months he began serving hamburgers, which he made himself. It was a pleasant place to drink, especially in the mornings when the sun was still cool and the salt mist came up from the ocean to give the air a crisp, healthy smell that for a few early hours would hold its own against the steaming, sweaty heat that clamps San Juan at noon and remains until long after sundown.
It was good in the evenings, too, but not so cool. Sometimes there would be a breeze and Al's would usually catch it because of the fine location -- at the very top of Calle O'Leary hill, so high that if the patio had windows you could look down on the whole city. But there is a thick wall around the patio, and all you can see is the sky and a few plantain trees. As time passed, Al bought a new cash register, then he bought wood umbrella-tables for the patio; and finally moved his family out of the house on Calle O'Leary, out in the suburbs to a new urbanización near the airport. He hired a large negro named Sweep, who washed the dishes and carried hamburgers and eventually learned to cook. He turned his old living room into a small piano bar, and got a pianist from Miami, a thin, sad-faced man called Nelson Otto. The piano was midway between the cocktail lounge and the patio. It was an old baby-grand, painted light grey and covered with special shellac to keep the salt air from ruining the finish -- and seven nights a week, through all twelve months of the endless Caribbean summer, Nelson Otto sat down at the keyboard to mingle his sweat with the weary chords of his music."
It's not hard to find somewhere to go dancing in Old San Juan. One of the most authentic venues is The Nuyorican Café on Fortaleza Street in the heart of the old town, which puts on live salsa from Wednesday to Sunday. The house orchestra at Latin Roots keeps this place lively right around the clock, on a large scale; salsa lessons are available, but not compulsory. Tantra is a more intimate place, where the dancing is enthusiastic, the martini list extensive and the culture Latino-Hindu, a colourful mix of Indian and Puerto-Rican.
If good food is more appealing than the dance floor, then the Parrot Club on Fortaleza Street serves some of the best Latin-fusion cuisine in the country along with its live Latin beats. Set in a beautiful turn-of-the-century building, it attracts a chic and star-studded crowd.
GOLF
Golf Magazine's Travelin' Joe says, "Among the better bargains on the island is Dorado del Mar at the Embassy Suites (787-796-6125, www.embassysuitesdorado.com/golf; $55-$120), a hilly 1998 Chi Chi Rodriguez design 45 minutes west of San Juan that features iguanas, swaying palms and a terrific 10th hole, a 525-yard par-5 that overlooks the Caribbean Sea."
Golf Digest says, "Most of the island's best courses are located east of San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport -- including Bahía Beach Resort & Golf Club, refurbished in 2007 by Robert Trent Jones Jr. The par-72, 7,014-yard Bahía Beach feels like it's routed through a jungle -- especially because the nearby El Yunque National Rainforest and its tallest peak -- El Toro -- are your background for most of the round. You don't need a machete to play, but you do have to slalom your golf shots over and around tall coconut palms, lagoons and tropical underbrush. Miss a fairway and your ball is likely gone for good. The course's signature holes are the final three -- a par 5, par 3 and par 4 -- which play along a crescent-shaped beach and are defended by a strong right-to-left breeze. Bahía is completely developed with several lodging options, including multi-bedroom villas that foursomes can split in-season for $259 per person a night, including golf and continental breakfast. There's also a new St. Regis Hotel on property that villa guests have access to, but the villas are much better-suited for golfers, both in proximity to the course and in amenities. Each has its own kitchen, and you can arrange to have staff grocery shop or cook for your group. Once inside the gates of Bahía Beach, you're in a tropical paradise. The staff has taken an eco-friendly approach to the property, so it's like vacationing in a nature preserve. If you keep a window open, you'll soon learn that the sweet chirp you hear all night long comes from the tiny coqui frog. It's as good a lullaby as you'll ever have."
Native Chi Chi Rodriguez says, "Dorado Beach Resort & Club is a very impressive place. There are four courses. They just opened the East course after an 18-month restoration, and it's gorgeous. The new bunkers are amazing. They have a rolling look that makes them seem as though they are part of the distant ocean. And the redesign allows golfers of all skill levels to enjoy the course."
Vieques Island
Hunter S. Thompson spent time on Vieques, Puerto Rico's little sister, during his stay in the archipelago. The beaches here are absolute paradise, and in a nature reserve on the island, Mosquito Bay glows blue-green from the bioluminescent plankton that live in it, and is a magical place to swim at night.
STAY & DRINK
At the W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island, on the south side of Mosquito Bay. Hot-Listed by US Condé Nast Traveler, the hotel has a restaurant by the pool and another by Alain Ducasse, on the beach; while the airy, open-plan Living Room is a wonderful place for Latino rhythms and rum punch. For something with more local flavor, try Bananas Guest House (www.bananasgueshouse.com) on the seaside boardwalk on Esperanza Beach, complete with their own open air beach bar.
Rincón, West Coast
DRINK
Thompson must have frequented a few; Depp's character almost gets lynched in one; beach bars are a big part of life on Puerto Rico. At the westernmost tip of the island, Rincón is a major surfing destination with whale-watching and diving opportunities, miles of unspoilt beaches from downtown to its sunset coast, and more than a few beach bars.
On the beach at Centro Puntas, Tamboo Tavern has won itself accolades as one of the world's all-time greatest beach bars, where the piña-coladas are excellent and the dancefloor fills up once the sun dips below the horizon. The Tamboo also has a few simple rooms and apartments overlooking the beach.
GOLF
Warm up for Puerto Rico's most dramatic course with a round at Punta Borinquen G&CC (www.worldgolf.com/courses/puertorico/punta-borinquen-golf-and-country-club.html). Punta Borinquen is ocean front with ocean views from many holes, a good value, wide-open, and windy. It's not very challenging, but you can't beat the views and the value. It was designed by Fred Garbin, built by the U.S. military, and was once played by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Then tee it up at nearby Royal Isabela GC (www.royalisabela.com). With its impeccably manicured fairways and greens routed along rugged cliffs and through lush vegetation, dramatic ocean views and the sound of waves bashing the coast, the scene here borders on surreal and is reminiscent of several world-class golf properties. Bandon Dunes and Kapalua immediately come to mind.
Be sure to bring a camera to Royal Isabela. The front nine is inland, hilly and framed by waist-high native grasses and tropical vegetation. The back nine resembles a links, with deep bunkers, wind-swept fairways and massive greens routed along three miles of cliffs, 150 to 350 feet above the water. The course was designed by Pete Dye disciple David Pfaff, but Pfaff says the course designed itself. The rolling farmland, the tropical vegetation and, of course, the cliffs helped route holes as well as any computer program could. Just like the Dominican Republic's Teeth of the Dog, which Pfaff helped build with Dye, most of Isabela's holes are recallable long after playing. The course is either par 72, 7,538 yards or par 73, 7,667 yards, because the sixth hole has two fairways and two greens. The owners couldn't decide on a routing, so from the same tee boxes you either play a par 4 up the right fairway or a par 5 up the left. Perhaps the scariest tee shot in the Caribbean is on the 200-yard 17th. There's no bailout between you and a smallish green on a jut of land above dense jungle. If you've ever seen the work of artist "Bud" Chapman, you'll swear you're playing one of his infamous Fantasy Golf Holes.
STAY
There's a 20-room lodge on-site at Royal Isabela, or midscalers with Marriott points can crash at the Courtyard Marriott next to Rafael Hernández Airport in nearby Aguadilla. For uber-upscale, head for the Horned Dorset Primavera, a Relais & Châteaux hotel housed in a former railway station that was built in colonial times. There are large and luxurious rooms, suites and even residences; the guest alumni includes Kate Moss, Meryl Streep and Puerto Rico-born Benicio Del Toro who also owns a house on the island.
Vega Baja and Saint Thomas Carnival
The bright colours and ethnic feel of the Saint Thomas carnival, where the cast drink and dance dirty in a local club, was actually recreated in Vega Baja. On the north coast of Puerto Rico, the old town has a beautiful plaza and colonial architecture that was perfect as the 1960 setting for the film.
The real carnival can still be found on Saint Thomas, a US Virgin Island to the east of Puerto Rico, just as bright and colourful today, and the next one will be bigger than ever as it celebrates its 60th anniversary on 22-28 April 2012.
On St. Thomas, play Mahogany Run GC (340-777-6250), a challenging course designed by George and Tom Fazio with both lush valley holes and bayside par-3's.
Fajardo and El Convento Beach
There was no shortage of perfect tropical beaches for locations, but for Sanderson's beautiful, modernist property the film crew used the governor's beach house, just outside Fajardo on the island's north-east coast.
It's the only building on this quintessential Caribbean paradise, El Convento Beach: an undeveloped length of coastline, backed by palm trees, that stretches for miles. Its warm, gin-clear waters are wonderful for snorkelling, and sea turtles use its powder-white sands as a nesting site.
Nearby, at Las Croabas, phosphorescence lights up Laguna Grande at night in otherworldly shades of blue and green and turquoise.
GOLF
Golf Magazine's Travelin' Joe says, "If you like bells and whistles, you'll get fired — up — for Trump International Golf Club Puerto Rico (787-657-2000, www.trumpgolfclubpuertorico.com; $140-$180). The closest championship golf to San Juan (14 miles east), the 36 holes here still lack some maturity, but as a PGA Tour stop the past two years, they boast plenty of eye candy and challenge."
Chi Chi says, "El Conquistador Resort is another breathtaking course. You can see the ocean from practically every hole. There's a lot of variety. You'll have downhill, uphill and sidehill lies. The undulations make the course a challenge. [Fat Guy Note: My friends Jeff and Brenda stayed here in 2010 and loved it. "Gorgeous resort, has it's own casino, even has it's own Starbucks, great beaches, their own private island, and the 'Why's The Rum Gone?' island from Pirates Of The Carribean is visible from their private beach."] The two courses at Rio Mar are also a lot of fun. They have beautiful views and amazing wildlife. You're likely to see a few iguanas during your round. I'm a bit partial to the Ocean Course, an original Tom and George Fazio course I helped redesign. The River Course is a Greg Norman layout that makes great use of the landscape."
OTHER PUERTO RICO LODGING OPTIONS
If you prefer rustic charm to the plushness of a hotel, Puerto Rico has several haciendas: stylish Spanish colonial buildings that take in guests, serve authentic home cooking and offer a taste of local culture.
Hacienda Siesta Alegre
The El Yunque rainforest (which was used for filming the scenes where Depp almost writes off his 1959 Chevy Corvette) is home to this beautiful ranch. Its decor is an airy, open-plan mix of antique furniture and original dark-wood detailing. There are just six rooms and a honeymoon suite, with balconies giving views onto the surrounding rainforest and sea; there's also a library, a pool and some lovely gardens.
Hacienda El Jibarito
Set in the San Sebastian mountains, Hacienda El Jibarito is an agroturismo where the organic produce used in the cuisine is all home-grown. You can have the full rural experience here: horseriding, golf and swimming in the pools at the hidden waterfalls in the surrounding hills.
Hacienda Juanita
Guests at this agro-hotel in Maricao can go birdwatching in the forests and the mountains, walking in the property's 24-acre coffee plantation, or simply relax by the pool and in the charming hacienda itself, which is decorated with antiques. In February, Maricao has its own coffee-harvest festival. For more details call 00 1 787 838 2550.
Hacienda Gripiñas
This 19th-century collection of buildings has a rich history, and has put up various military and political leaders in the past century or so. Today people go there chiefly to escape, and to eat in the large dining room, with a courtyard for eating under the stars.
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Fat Guy Research: WHAT TO DRINK IN PUERTO RICO
Lotterman: How much would you say you like to drink?
Paul Kemp: I’d say on the upper-end of social.
In addition to Hunter S. Thompson's beloved Chivas Regal, be sure to sample some of Puerto Rico's best rums. Depp is more of a wino than a rum guy; he lives in the south of France, owns a vineyard, and makes his own wine.
10 Best Rums From Puerto Rico by AskMen.com
You might not know it, but Puerto Rico is one of the biggest and best rum-producing nations in the world. Located between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic, east of the Dominican Republic, the climate of Puerto Rico is just right for producing the sugar cane from which rum (or ron, as the locals know it) is made -- which the island nation has been doing since the 1500s. Today, more than 80% of the rum consumed in the USA hails from this island. So if you’re in the market for a good ron, you won’t go wrong with help from this alphabetical resource of the 10 best rums from Puerto Rico.
Bacardi Añejo
The first Bacardi rum distillery was founded by Don Facundo Bacardi Masso in 1862, when rum was considered the drink of pirates and other ne’er do wells. Today, Bacardi is the world’s largest privately held, family-owned producer of rums, selling more than 200 million bottles annually in 200 countries. It is the fourth-largest spirits company in the world, grossing more than $3.3 billion in 2004. Bacardi Añejo is a rum that has been aged for six years to enhance its subtle flavors. A brownish-amber rum, with aromas of pink peppercorns, caramel and spice, Bacardi Añejo starts soft and sweet and finishes dry with a smoky, peppery note. On the whole, an excellent medium-bodied rum.
How to serve: Don’t bury this one in a mix; serve it straight up and let the subtle notes roll around your mouth.
Bacardi Superior
Bacardi Superior is a dry and smooth rum with subtle spice flavors. It’s a light rum, low in aromatics, but with a dry flavor and finish. Above all, it’s an excellent mixer and obviously among the world’s best for a reason.
How to serve: Bacardi Superior is the ideal mixer, especially if you’re out for a dry complement to a mixed drink. Try it in a mojito or fall back on an old classic: Rum and cola.
The best rum distillery tour in Puerto Rico is at the Bacardi distillery in Cantano just outside San Juan (www.casabacardi.org).
Captain Morgan Private Stock
The good Captain’s origins date back to the 17th century, though Morgan himself would have bristled at the idea of being portrayed as a pirate; his official title was that of a privateer, a ship's captain who has his government’s authorization to attack and plunder an enemy nation’s shipping concerns. Sea scoundrel or not, in 1944 the Seagram Company began producing their famous rum under his name when it bought a Jamaican distillery from that country’s government. Today, Captain Morgan is the fourth-largest brand of spirit in the USA and the 11th largest in the world. If you’re looking for the best the Captain has to offer, try his Captain Morgan Private Stock. It’s rich and full-bodied, with a smooth, dark texture and tastes of subtle island spices that give it a nutty, sweet, candy-like flavor.
How to serve: Sit back and sip this one. It makes a great, refreshing drink when served on the rocks with club soda.
Don Q Añejo
Named after Cervantes’ fictional character, Don Quixote, Don Q is one of Puerto Rico’s top brands of rum and competes internationally with the world’s best. A favorite among rum connoisseurs, the award-winning Don Q Añejo is the pride of the Don Q brand because of the authentic production process behind it. Aged in wood barrels for two to nine years, Don Q Añejo exudes a bouquet of cognac-esque flavors that make it one of Puerto Rico’s preferred sipping rums.
How to serve: Though Don Q Añejo is smooth enough to be mixed, the exquisite taste makes it ideal for taking straight or on the rocks.
Don Q Gold
Conceived by the Serralles family in 1932, Don Q rums were being marketed and sold across Puerto Rico by the 1960s, and were soon being exported to the United States, Mexico and parts of the Caribbean. Don Q’s signature bottle is Don Q Gold. It’s a three- to five-year old rum, full-bodied with a mellow flavor.
How to serve: Don Q Gold should be served neat -- it’s that good. It also stands up well in mixed drinks, but it’s such a shame to drown quality in cola.
Reserva Añeja Rum
Reserva Añeja is an aged Puerto Rican rum, rich in tradition. It is an ultra premium bottle made in short supply, so pick up a bottle if you ever see if for sale. On the tongue, expect a rich, complex and buttery taste that is appreciated by the most discerning rum drinkers.
How to serve: Serve this one neat as well; it should be a crime to drown a quality rum like this in any mixer.
Ron Bocoy Oro
Ron Bocoy Oro is a full-bodied golden rum that has earned a place as one of the top mixing rums in Puerto Rico. Equipped with a deep, mellow flavor that complements rather that overtakes the mixes it’s paired with, Ron Bocoy Oro has become a staple of beachfront bars across Puerto Rico.
How to serve: If rum and cola is the name of your game, then Ron Bocoy Oro should feature prominently among your playing cards.
Ron Castillo Gold
A rum coming out of the house of Bacardi, Ron Castillo was designed as a cheaper alternative that could compete on the domestic stages with other brands like Don Q. On average, a bottle of Ron Castillo costs about 25% less than a bottle of Bacardi. But don’t let the price fool you, Ron Castillo is good value. Its sales are growing steadily in the USA and recently hit the million-case mark. Ron Castillo Gold is the label’s top bottle and has a smooth, silky taste with a reserved finish.
How to serve: You probably don’t want to sip Ron Castillo Gold neat, but it makes a fine mixer with fruit juice.
Ron del Barrilito Tres Estrellas
Ron del Barrilito's old-world production process is considered by experts to be the closest thing to the traditional production processes used in the 19th century. The brand itself was founded by Fernando Fernandez in the early 1800s, produced in a sugar cane plantation that today is an industrial park near Bayamon. Part of what makes Ron del Barrilito so special is that it’s still made in very small batches, as it was in its early days. The Ron del Barrilito Tres Estrellas bottle is smoky and smooth with notes of caramels. It’s a full-bodied and very complex rum.
How to serve: Serve Ron del Barrilito Tres Estrellas straight; this complex rum doesn’t want to be masked!
Ron Llave Blanco Supremo
Ron Llave Blanco Supremo’s history dates back to the late 19th century when two entrepreneurs, Miguel Roses Bisbal and Sebastian Garcia bought a rum manufacturing facility in Arecibo. In 1891, they begin distilling the Ron Llave brand under the banner of the Puerto Rico Distilling Company. Nearly a century later, the distillery was bought by the Serralles family and its brands were taken from the domestic market and thrust on to the world stage. As a Puerto Rican rum, Ron Llave Blanco Supremo is known for its mellow notes and easily mixed taste. It adds lightness and flavor to any mixed drink.
How to serve: This one’s a mixer. Like all Puerto Rican whites, the sky’s the limit when it comes to your favorite concoction!
The national cocktail of Puerto Rico seems to be the Cuba Libre. Or, get off the rum track with a refreshing India Beer which was popular in Puerto Rico around the time of the book, made by local India Brewery, now known as Compañía Cervecera de Puerto Rico (www.cerveceradepr.com), located in Mayaguez on the West Coast. The main brand they produce these days is Medalla Light.
Drinking Made Easy's Recipes from The Rum Diary
In Hunter S. Thompson’s novel-turned-movie The Rum Diary, Johnny Depp’s character spends a lot of time drinking…specifically rum.
So when mixologists Paul Monahan and Rachel Furman wanted to give a nod to the upcoming film, they looked to capture the exciting and somewhat crazy nature of the characters, as well as honor the unique author behind the story.
Monahan and Furman, U.S. Brand Ambassadors for Sailor Jerry Rum, have shared their recipes for “Hunter’s Punch” and “Etcetera”, below. And if you happen to be in NYC, you can order these cocktails at Mother’s Ruin (18 Spring St).
Hunter’s Punch
1.5 part Sailor Jerry Rum
2 part pom juice
.5 part lemon
.5 part champagne
Bottom of punch bowl add pom juice and lemon juice. Stir slowly with ice. Add rum and stir some more. Slowly add champagne while stirring. Keep punch cool with minimal ice. Serve chilled in desired glass.
Etcetera
1.5 part Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
.75 part fresh lime juice
.25 part homemade cinnamon allspice syrup
1 part pineapple juice
Add ingredients to rocks filled mixing glass. Shake. Strain into old fashioned glass.
Serve down in glass. Pineapple juice shaken should give cocktail a nice froth.
The Rum Diary Drinking Game by GQ UK's Oliver Franklin
Some things naturally lend themselves to drinking games - FIFA 12, for example - while others - Schindler's List, say - do not. But even aside from the fact that it's directed by Bruce "Withnail & I" Robinson, the new film of Hunter S Thompson's novel The Rum Diary seemed such an obvious candidate that GQ.com couldn't help but come up with a set of rules. NB We don't in any way encourage you to actually play this lest, like Johnny Depp's Paul Kemp, you end up unemployed, stripped of most of your belongings and intermittently imprisoned. However, if you do play, drink responsibly and perhaps use a low ABV beer rather than a highly flammable Puerto Rican spirit. (Perhaps also wait for the Blu-ray release, or risk ejection from your local cinema.)
1. Once Kemp arrives on the island, take a sip every time he does. (By our count, that's 19 times.) That's only when he sips - if you did a finger for every shot of rum, beer or otherwise you would swiftly wind up hospitalised.
2. Two fingers every time there's a scene change set to uptempo Latin music.
3. One finger every time Depp is surprised by an animal: e.g. a diamond-studded turtle, flock of fighting cocks or road-faring horse.
4. One finger for every sun-dappled aerial shot of a classic car coasting along a palm-lined road.
5. Two fingers for any conspicuous Robinson-isms e.g. "Your tongue is like an accusatory giblet." The same any time Depp does Captain Jack's "What happened to all the rum?" face. If you're still conscious after two hours, you win.
Rum Diary Film Trivia: "Screenwriter/Director Bruce Robinson had been sober for six-and-a-half years before he started writing the screenplay for The Rum Diary. The filmmaker found himself suffering from writer's block. He started drinking again, a bottle of alcohol a day until he finished the script and then he quit drinking again. He spent a year filming in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Hollywood and resisted drinking until they arrived in Fajardo. Robinson remembers, "It was 100 degrees at two in the morning and very humid. Everyone's drenched in sweat. One of the prop guys goes by with a barrow-load of ice and Coronas. I said: 'Johnny, this doesn't mean anything.' And reached for a Corona." ... Some savage drinking took place. When I was no longer in Johnny's environment I went back to sobriety." [Wikipedia/The Independent]
Johnny Depp revealed that the cast and crew took part in a daily ritual on the set to honor gonzo journalist Thompson's memory: "Hunter would have his own chair right next to Bruce's and he had a script with his name on it, the whole thing, and we would put a pack of Dunhills on a little table by the side, a bottle of Chivas, his favourite drink, and a tumbler full of ice. And each morning we'd dunk our fingers in the tumbler and dab a little Chivas on our necks, like a sort of Hunter cologne, take a sip and then off to work we went. We did that every morning, so Hunter was always there. It was good." [Metro.co.uk]
The building converted to the offices of the San Juan Star where Kemp works is on Tetuan Street. The "newspaper office" scenes were shot on the third floor.
Getting to and from the Puerto Rico set was a bit of a problem for Johnny Depp. "The plane just shut down," Depp told Live Magazine (via Hollyscoop). "The sound of the engines stopped. There was silence. Bruce [Robinson, the film's director] and I were looking at each other and I think I said, 'Is this it?' It was like this weird extended moment when you're just floating for a second and you could feel this unpleasant descent." And how did he react? The way another one of his characters, Captain Jack Sparrow, might in the face of death. "Nobody said a word except for Bruce and I, sitting next to each other saying, 'Oh sh*t! This is death; I guess this is how it goes down,'" he remembered. "Then we burst into hysterical laughter at the idea that this was how we were going to die." The plane, of course, soon kicked back into gear and all was okay.
Unfortunately, though, the film did a little crash landing of its own, opening to poor reviews and making just $5.1 million its opening weekend, finally approaching $13 million-plus worldwide, after costing an estimated $45 million to make. Pretty friggin' expensive promise to keep for a dead friend.
Just in case you didn't already hate Johnny Depp enough for being a bright, rich, good-looking movie star who's on every woman's Free Pass short list... When The Rum Diary wrapped shooting, the producer handed Depp the keys to the mint-condition 1959 red Corvette convertible (my dream car) used in the movie, as a token of thanks. Bastard.
[Fat Guy Note: I have not taken this trip or explored any of these courses/locations first hand. As always, proper research and reservations are required. I'm just the idea guy on this one.]