Coffee with a bite! In Trinidad & Tobago, they call it, Babash!
Many moons ago (please don’t ask, smile) I was employed with the Ministry of Works in Arima. The main office was located in a small building opposite the Arima Municipal Stadium (“The Velodrome”). My first assignment was on the Blanchieusse road where one of the bridges collapsed. Not long after that assignment, I was sent to work on the construction of the Bridge across the Arima River located on the Arima Old Road. This bridge leads to the Arima Senior Comprehensive School and was an important link for the buses to get to the school. Ok so I was the “checker/costing clerk” who kept the records at the site; our foreman’s name was Mr. Julian Reid – a wonderful man (deceased). This is where I learned the 'ins and outs' of Babash.
Harrilal Singh, a resident of Central Trinidad would bring the “coffee” as we called it because the guys working in the river area needed “something to warm up the insides”. We had this triangular piece of half inch steel that Clyde, our in house steel bender, designed that would act as our cow bell to call the guys in. More times that ever it was used to let the guys know that they could leave the water area and come up for some “coffee”. My first reaction to the "coffee" on initiation was, "what kinda coffee is dat?"- everyone broke out in laughter! The only thing is that this “coffee”, if poured on a piece of lumbar and lighted would easily behave like gasoline – and it felt like fire rushing down your throat not because of heat but because of the alcohol content. Yes that was literally fire water. The concoction also had a unique scent that is typical of this home brew. Those were the good ole days and say whatever you want but that is how I feel about it - an indelible record that always brings about feel good moments in retrospect.
These memories and the need for a new name led me to select Babash as the new name for the previously named site Trini2DMarrow.vox.com. No silly remarks ok, that is not a “drunkard” site and we will continue with the discourse in the same manner. Babash now has a regal name to it as the local brew has been given the Midas touch by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy in association with Trinidad Distillers Limited and is being sold in the International community under the name 10 Cane Rum.
This legal brew is only available at the duty-free section at Piarco Airport but is easily available in the United States. The product is produced in St. Madeline in South Trinidad and is made from the first press of the sugar cane and not brewed from molasses. What a "ting" indeed. Bush Rum that is, Babash has grown up and it took a French Company to see the light. Indeed the drink has a kick and lit up many lives back in the day. Now it has a regal price of US $31.00 (price I saw at a Manhattan liquor store).
However, having said that please note that it is a little different from the original local brew. So when you think of Babash the drink or Babash the Blog think about the regal nature of 10 Cane 'Rum' - all the stars will be aligned just right. Oh, and yes, you can visit the Babash Blog too - http://babash.vox.com/. This blog no longer exists/site closed by Typepad. This may provide an incentive to do some posting there.
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