Camilla received something of a shock when she tried her first taste of 40 per cent proof rum during a tour of craft stalls on March. 21.
As she took a sip of the spirit – served straight with no ice – her eyes widened and she exclaimed: “Blimey! That packs a punch!”
The following day, more drinks were bestowed upon the Duchess following a reception on Nevis, hosted by the deputy Governor General of the Caribbean country.
Camilla was offered the classic Caribbean drink rum punch when she visited the historic Hermitage Plantation House on Nevis which dates from the 1670s, and said: “I couldn’t say no.”
Richard Lupinacci, who runs the estate as a plantation inn for tourists, said their recipe was hundreds of years old and was made from “one of sour, two sweet, three strong and four weak – it’s a cure all”.
After taking a sip, the duchess said: “That’s delicious and packs a punch – it’s really alcoholic.”