The Rum, Cigar & Coffee House

Established in 2000 by proprietors Saul and Mari Nuñez, The Rum, Cigar & Coffee House is one of San Pedro’s finest shops, offering the best in local liqueurs, rum, wine, Belizean and Cuban cigars, and fresh coffee from the mountains of Guatemala and southern Belize. This choice shop is located in the center of San Pedro Town and is an all-time favorite amongst tourists and locals on the island who desire to select from a great variety of excellent products.

Rum Sampling“Visitors just love our rum and wine tasting, which takes place throughout the day,” a smiling Saul Nuñez told Ambergris Today. “Customers get a taste of the fine product before making their decision to purchase. Our best-seller is the Campesino Coffee Rum, with over one thousand bottles having been sold so far at our shop during this busy tourism season. We also have many clients who come over for the purchase of fine Cuban cigars, fresh coffee from Belize and Guatemala, and our famous cashew wine, Pantiripa, and Mayan Bitters.”

ProductsSaul, a rum and cigar connoisseur, has been in the business for the past fifteen years assisted by his wife Mari. Together, they provide friendly and knowledgeable service to their clientele and have seen demand for their locally-made products grow in recent years. The shop’s cigar room or humidor is well-stocked with an excellent selection of world-famous Cuban cigars, best-sellers amongst their clientele. “Cuba has 500 years of cigar manufacturing history and this is why their product is highly sought,” Saul explained. “Our fine selection is stored in a climatically controlled atmosphere, providing the very best cigars for our customers.” These include Cohiba Crystal and Esplendidos, Romeo y Julieta Churchills and Robustos, Montecristo #2 and #4, and the Partagas Lusitnias and Serie D, amongst others.

The selection of Belizean cigars is made either from Sumatra or Maduro Tobacco, available from Panatela sizes to Double Coronas. The mild, subtle creamy taste of the tobacco was introduced to this part of the world from the Pacific Islands some 3,000 years ago and have been harvested and enjoyed by the Mayan culture ever since. Unlike the Cuban selection, the Belizean cigars are milder in taste. “We also invite our clients to try our flavored cigars, which have become a true gourmet experience!” added Saul.

PantiripaSelect local rums, wines, and liqueurs sold at the shop include the Campesino Coffee Rum, a blend of Belizean rum, caramel, vanilla and Guatemalan Arabica coffee, which can be enjoyed chilled or on the rocks; the Tropical Coconut Rum, which when blended with pineapple juice makes the world famous Pantiripa; the 1 Barrel Rum, a Gold Award winner for Best Rum in the World 2002, aged for 3 years with a touch of caramel; and the exotic Mayan Rum Bitters, a 2,000-year-old medicinal recipe made of shrubs, roots and barks, which is freshly harvested from the Belizean rainforest and soaked in white rum and Anise liqueur to extract the medicine from the wood. Amongst its many beneficial attributes for a healthy body, the bitters is highly-recommended as “Good for the Wood” (honeymooners, take notice).

“Our selected local wines come from the villages of Bomba, Yo Creek and Teakettle, but we bottle the product here in San Pedro,” explained Saul. The large variety of local wine flavors for sale include the Cashew Wine, an after-dinner delicacy with a sweet-tasting flavor similar to a sherry. Both tourists and locals enjoy the Cashew wine, and its popularity at area restaurants and homes is growing by the day. Other local delicacies include the Craboo Wine, Blackberry, Ginger, Grapefruit, Mango, Waya, Orange, and Wild Grape. Clients who taste these local products love them all!

And then there are the flavorsome Central American coffees. Simply put, the coffee products sold at the shop are the freshest that you can obtain on the island. Customers have a choice of freshly roasted coffee from Guatemala and Belize, including the extra-rich flavor of Café Volcan Raspado from the mountains of Antigua, Guatemala; the Café Costa Maya, an export quality Arabica from Esquipulas, Guatemala; and the Café Belize, a fresh and mild roast from southern Belize. “It’s the only place in Belize where coffee lovers can buy their coffee freshly ground and packaged.”

No wonder hundreds of tourists from around the world visit the Rum, Cigar, & Coffee House while in San Pedro. With its great selection of choice products, the shop has consistently provided clients with the very best of fine liqueurs, wines, cigars, and coffee for their pleasure or as a splendid gift for their loved ones or friends.

The shop is opened 7 days a week, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Overseas orders can be placed by accessing information through the website www.belizeancigars.com. Telephone orders in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye can be placed by calling 226-2020.

Photo Caption:
1. Saul Nuñez, owner, offers a variety of excellent products.
2. A tourist samples one of the many liquors.
3. Products of the Rum House.
4. Belize’s famous Pantiripa in a bottle.