THE ISLAND MAY only be 34 kilometers long and 23 kilometers wide, but it’s awash in at least 1,500 rum shacks. These colourful, hastily built structures are full of jovial, well-lubricated locals and intrepid travellers indulging in beer-sized bottles of rum, drunk either straight out of the bottle or blended with their favourite mixer. Many rum shacks also serve Barbadian dishes like macaroni pie and a variety of different grilled fish.

An affordable way to drink and snack with the locals, you’ll find these little bars in each town hogging nearly every other street corner. Look for the crowded shack painted from top to bottom in the colours and logo of a sponsor alcohol brand, a common practice done to cover the cost of paint.

READERS: Do you know any especially great Barbados rum shops? Tell us about them!