 Ever missed your return flight from a developing country because you were in jail? Yeah, me neither. Changing the subject, Fiji has always been on my bucket list, and when an opportunity to go fell into my lap a few years back, I knew I had to go. Now there is a ton of sugarcane in Fiji, which only means one thing. Well, it means a lot of things, but to me it only means one thing. Rum. If my research is correct, there's only one distillery in Fiji, and while they make a handful of rums, the local favorite is bounty overproof. I know this is the local favorite because every time I ordered it, the bartender would point at the bottle and say, gold medal winner. Yes, this bit of hometown pride is a gold medal winner, and it's well-deserved. I haven't had it in over a year and a half, but today is as good a day as any to revisit it. I'm holding the glass just out of frame, and I can already smell it. This is a rum that announces itself. I'm in for it. Light pineapple and banana notes. Definitely smell of burn. I'm having such a nice time just nosing this. Oh yeah. Hot, really thick. The flavor on this is very intense. This is not dissimilar to a Jamaican, although with some of the less funky notes, this does lack the depth that some of the more full-flavored Jamaicans have, but there's a lot going on in here. Now there's no age statement, but I can tell just by looking at this that it doesn't have any caramel, and based on how dry it is, I can tell it doesn't have any sugar added, so terrific. Very nice neat, but locals don't drink it neat. Now they drink it with Coke, and that's what I did. And it's surprisingly good. So instead of making something boring like a daiquiri, I'm going to make me a bounty over-proofing Coke. And I'm back in Fiji, sitting on a beach. I drank my body weight in bounty over-proofing Coke, so the flavor is quite familiar to me. Two quick things. First, a single is 30 ml, which is about one ounce, so I stuck to doubles. Also, the Coke they use isn't that fancy cane sugar s***. They use regular old crappy high fructose corn syrup, so that's what I'm using today. Still tastes great. And if you're wondering what this cost, a double was about 25 Fijian dollars, but since the exchange rates two to one, the shrink at a resort would cost about the same as it would at a fancy cocktail bar in LA. And speaking of exchange rates, look at what loving old fashions will cost you if you live here. Yep, being in the middle of the ocean is expensive. This is a delightful trip down memory lane, but to be honest, tasting it is kind of bittersweet. When I travel, I like to walk the city, stay out late, meet people, court the unexpected, blah, blah, blah. But I was in inner city. I was at a resort, with nothing around for miles. All there really is to do is hang out on the beach and drink. And yes, that was wonderful. I spent an afternoon in a hammock chair drinking a six-pack of Fiji Bitter reading Harry Potter. And yes, the resort does a great job of keeping their guests entertained, but that's just not how I travel. At the end of the day, this trip was great. It introduced me to one of my all-time favorite rooms, which I will love for the rest of my life, that unfortunately, you can't get here. Is it because I associate said room with being in a tropical paradise pretending I'm Don Beach? Maybe. Also, I had a distillery tour lined up. After a ton of begging, the distiller said, okay, I'm out of the country, but I get back on Thursday. Does that work for you? And my flight left on Tuesday. I saw natural beauty and man-made beauty. I swam in 15-foot deep crystal clear water in the middle of the ocean, and yes, almost landed myself in jail. My last day in town, a cab driver colluded with local law enforcement and tried to have me arrested, and it was either bribe him or miss my flight. All in all, go to Fiji if you can. It's a beautiful country with wonderful people and also a great way to kit out your home teakie bar for cheap. But if you meet a cab driver named Raj, find another cab. That's it for today. Stay safe. All the advice professionals. I'll see you tomorrow. Boolah!