Bread pudding with Mount Gay XO Rum

As I remarked last week it’s been rum with practically everything since we’ve been in Barbados - or if not rum, Banks beer - so I nearly went for a rare wine pairing - Provencal rosé with tuna poke - as my match of the week.

Rosé seems to be the most popular wine on the island by a long chalk - understandable given the climate. We also had it at the Nikki Beach with sushi which worked equally well.

But it’s still cold back home in the UK so I thought you’d benefit more from a rum pairing you might not have thought of: XO rum and bread pudding.

The dessert, which was served at one of Speightstown’s newer restaurants Hugo’s was a particularly good version of this classic Bajan dish - a wonderfully rich but light bread pudding with Mount Gay rum and condensed milk sauce (as good as it sounds) and rum and raisin ice-cream - intense enough to take a serious spirit in its stride.

Although I’m a fan of Mount Gay which is made in Barbados - we’ve been using it all the time in our rum punches - I hadn’t tried the Extra Old bottling before and it’s really impressive. You can buy it for £33 at the time of writing on Amazon.

See also The best pairings for rum and rum-based cocktails

I ate at Hugo’s as a guest of the restaurant