King Charles Tastes a Guyanese Rum and Calls It "Very Good"
King Charles tasted a limited-edition rum called "Royal Welcome" during his visit to Guyana, and he gave it a verdict: "very good." Town & Country reported the tasting, which took place on the king's Caribbean tour.
The rum is made by Banks DIH, a Guyanese rum company. Gregory Garraway, an executive at the company's rum plant, told Town & Country that the rum the king sampled was 20 years old. Limited editions like this one are small batches, often made for a special occasion or a particular visitor.
The king also linked the drink to his family. "It's a great pick-me-up, as my grandmother used to say," he said. His grandmother was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the widow of King George VI and mother of Queen Elizabeth II. Town & Country noted that the Queen Mother was known to prefer a glass of Dubonnet, a sweet French aperitif wine, mixed with gin.
The king has his own connection to her habits. He inherited the Castle of Mey, a small castle on the north coast of Scotland, from the Queen Mother when she died. The castle is one of the family's private homes, not part of the official state properties.
The tasting came during a wider trip through the Caribbean. The king began the tour in the Bahamas, where Reuters reported that he said it was "only right" to acknowledge "the great suffering and injustices" of the past. The report said the visit came as calls for slavery reparations grow across the region. Slavery and the British Empire are a serious and continuing topic in several Caribbean countries, and the king's remarks drew attention for that reason.
The trip was planned months earlier. In August, Reuters reported that the king and Queen Camilla would make a week-long tour of Caribbean nations in 2026, and that the tour would include Antigua and Barbuda.
For Americans, the story is a small one with a long reach. Banks DIH is a Caribbean maker, and the rum is a product of a former British colony that now runs its own government. The king's visit put that rum, and that country, in front of a global audience for a few minutes of tasting.
