Turtle Bay is known for Caribbean food but it’s also known for it’s rum. Did you know that you can enjoy a rum masterclass during the Summer Sound Clash season over these couple of months where you will be able to enjoy a variety of rum, rum and more rum.
I had the pleasure in attending on a complimentary basis along with some other community members of Love Pop Ups London to attend their first Summer Sound Clash festival which kicked off in Brixton, all whilst enjoying a rum or two or eight.
Turtle Bay UK
Turtle Bay was established back in 2010 and now has 43 restaurants across the UK and two in Germany.
Escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and step into Turtle Bay and enjoy a Caribbean style escape as Turtle Bay is all about having a Caribbean good time.
Diners will be able to enjoy the sounds of reggae whilst at Turtle Bay UK, over 40 rum drinks as well as mouth-watering hot sauces, spice rubs, fragrant marinades and cool chutneys to fresh hand-tossed salads, spice wood jerk grills and exotically spiced one pots, perfect for sharing with friends in true Caribbean Limin’ style. Turtle Bay pride themselves on flavours that match the intensity of the tropical sun.
Just sit back relax, take life slow and listen to the sounds of reggae whilst sipping on rum cocktails and feasting on Caribbean jerk and soul food.
Summer Sound Clash at Turtle Bay UK
Summer Sound Clash pays tribute to the sound clash culture of Jamaica, which originated on the streets of Kingston in the late 1950s. Few people could afford records, so street parties were a great way to hear new music.
Sound system DJs would often be set up close to each other in the street – with music being turned up louder and louder in a friendly attempt to drown out their rivals.
Over time, this developed into formal music battles, where sound systems would fight for the crowd’s admiration. The bigger your sound and the better your selection of tracks, the better chance you stood of winning.
The competing crews came to be referred to as ‘sound systems’ and featured local DJs and singers. Pioneers included the likes of Tom the Great Sebastian, Duke Reid’s the Trojan and Count Nick. A crew would have a ‘selector’ who was in charge of choosing the music played at the battles – they were usually the star of the show.
Moving into the 60s, 70s and 80s, the sound systems just got bigger and bigger and it spread overseas with Jamaican immigrants to places like London and the US, becoming an integral part of music culture there and a huge influence on a wide range of music genres.
This Summer Turtle Bay will be bringing a reggae festival with live DJ sessions from prominent artists, sunshine-inspired rum cocktails and some of the best Caribbean cuisine on the block to Turtle Bay UK.
Starting of a four-day Summer Sound Clash season will be taking place within Brixton before heading out to six other Turtle Bay’s UK restaurants over selected dates throughout July and August.
The FREE Sound Clash events will bring diners authentic reggae vibes to life, with live DJ sessions from a variety of prominent artists that include Laid Black, Tita Lau, Real Roots, DJ Bungy and Wanita Anderson amongst others. The festivals will also feature a selection of sunshine-inspired rum cocktails and some of the best Caribbean cuisine on the block that will be available from brunch through until late.
Turtle Bay’s Summer Sound Clash will be taking place at the following locations:
- Brixton on 4th – 7th July
- Leeds on 18th July – 21st July
- Manchester Oxford Street on 1st – 4th August
- Peterborough on 8th – 11th August
- Swansea on 11th – 14th July
- Bristol Broad Quay on 15th – 18th August
- Chelmsford on 22nd – 25th August
The festival will give everyone the perfect way to celebrate summer this year.
For more information about the festival, or to reserve a table, visit www.turtlebay.co.uk.
Rum Masterclass over the Summer Sound Clash
Turtle Bay UK over the Summer Sound Clash festival will be giving diners an opportunity to have a rum masterclass to taste a variety of rum from gold, dark, light, sweet, spicy and fruity.
An expert Rum Maestro will take all rum lovers on a journey through the delicious world of Caribbean rum from the Cayman Islands, to Trinidad and Tobago as you’ll try eight unique rums and learn about their incredible flavours and stories.
Plus over the nine weeks of summer (1st July – 1st September) guests will be able to sample Turtle Bay UK new, rum-inspired cocktail with a reggae themed name. Guests will also be able to vote for their favourite of the nine cocktails and the most popular one of the summer will become a permanent feature on the menu and keep the summer vibes going long after the season has finished.
Turtle Bay UK Rum Masterclasses are currently only available as part of their Summer Soundclash Festival.
Rumming it up
I went along to celebrate Summer Sound Clash in Brixton to take in the sounds of the live DJ’s whilst also enjoying a rum masterclass as rum is after all the Caribbeans most famous alcoholic beverage.
One rum, two rum, three rum, floor
Before sitting down and enjoying a rum masterclass there was an a table dawned with plenty of rum from gold, dark, light, sweet, spicy and fruits ones plus a tray with various Caribbean spices and plantation.
We firstly were given a welcome Signature Rum ‘n’ Tonic their classic twist to a Gin ‘n’ Tonic. I opted for a fruity cocktail which is named El Dorado 3 ‘n’ cucumber & watermelon tonic. Some others opted for spicy and sweet versions. It consisted of an award-winning white rum from Guyana.
The Rum ‘n’ Tonic tasted fresh and crisp with undertones of coconut, watermelon & vanilla notes.
After enjoying my Rum ‘n’ Tonic it then time time to become a rum expert.
Our rum Caribbean journey took us on a tantalising experience where we learnt about the incredible flavours and stories behind each rum.
We learnt from our Rum Maestro about all the different rums from where they came from through to the difference in taste when paired with certain food.
Currently the Rum Masterclasses is only available as part of their Summer Soundclash Festival, but this might change!
The Rum journey
The first rum we learnt and tried was a bottle Appleton Estate Signature Blend (40%) which comes from Jamaica.
The Appleton Estate Signature Blend is a full-bodied rum as it is a blend of 15 aged golden rums. It has a warm honey colour, has a fruity aroma and rich in taste. I could taste black pepper and chilli along with a hint of vanilla.
The second rum we learnt about was about the Soggy Dollar Island Spiced (35%) which comes from the British Islands.
The Soggy Dollar is a spiced rum which is a blend of Caribbean rums and a selection of spices. It had lovely hints of cinnamon, orange and brown sugar undertones.
Did you know the name comes from the Soggy Dollar bar on Jost Van Dyke, the smallest of the four main islands of the British Virgin Islands (which is apparently where the Painkiller cocktail was first made).
The third rum we learnt about was about The Real McCoy. (40%) from Bajan.
The Real McCoy is a 3 year old rum which has is aged in American oak bourbon barrels. Upon smelling the rum I could smell banana and vanilla but tasting it I could taste cedar, dried apple and white pepper.
Did you know the range is named after the nickname used for spirits sold by Bill McCoy, legendary Prohibition-era smuggler.
The fourth rum we learnt about was the FourSquare (37.5%) from Barbados.
Foursquare Spiced Rum is an aged rum with hints of cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. It made me think a little of Christmas.
The fifth rum was a bottle of Rum No.10 (40%) and comes from Grenadine.
Rum No.10 is a well aged rum deliciousness with notes of butterscotch, honey and hints of maple spice.
The sixth rum was a Angostura 1919 (40%) rum which comes from Trinidad.
Angostura’s 1919 is a rich and spicy rum with hints of vanilla and caramel.
The seventh rum was a bottle of Pussers Rum Gunpower Proof (54.5%) from the Caribbean.
This Gunpowder Proof rum surely was spicy. It is full of dried fruits, dates, prunes, slightly overripe figs. To the palate tastes very sweet with it’s stewed fruits and has a syrupy taste.
This is a higher proof of the traditional British Naval rum. This rum also is well loved that it picked up a trophy at the International Spirits Challenge in 2016.
The last rum on the night was a bottle of Wray & Nephew (63%) which is a white rum which comes from Jamaica.
This rum is one of the best-selling high proof white rums in the world as 90% of rum sales in Jamaica are of Wray and Nephew. On the nose has fruity notes. To the palate tasted fruity with hints of banana and brown sugar as well as spice and a little oak.
Throughout the rum masterclass we also got to learn about some ingredients which are used to make such rum and food which can alter the flavours of rum such as chocolate.
So after all this rum let’s say I think we were all nearly on the floor as rum is very strong in alcoholic content after all but was such RUM, sorry mean fun.
I loved all the rum but I especially loved the Soggy Doggy.
Sunshine-inspired sharing platters
Part of the rum experience we are given a sharing platter of Caribbean food to enjoy and soak up all the rum within our bellies. There are two options the meat or vegetarian platter. The platters are to be shared between two so I shared mine with community member Beth and we chose the meat platter.
I loved the ribs and spiced chicken. However I loved the calamari as was cooked to perfection and sweet.
Two others chose the vegetarian platter and I must admit that also looked delicious and they said it was.
In addition to the rum masterclass we got to enjoy a complimentary main meal (not part of rum masterclass) to choose which I opted for their new dish on the menu the Fried Fish which was salmon and came served with calamari.
The batter was light and the fish was cooked to perfection moist and flaked away when cut into it. The calamari was again cooked to perfection. However the chips even though cooked well was luke warm but all in all I loved this dish.
Summer Sound Clash blast
It was then time for the live bands and DJ to pump up the night with sounds of reggae to start of the Summer Sound Clash festival.
There were people dancing and having a right good time.
Rum it up
I would definitely highly recommend the rum masterclass as not only do you get a welcome drink, get to learn and taste over eight different rums but you’ll also get a sharing platter of food to enjoy after which gives you a small sample of what Caribbean food tastes like. I especially loved the spare ribs as they were sticky, spicy and sweet. All just costing £35 a sweet deal.
Reggae on down to Turtle Bay UK
Turtle Bay UK restaurants
To discover more about Turtle Bay UK and the food that can be had at their restaurants over the UK click here.
Turtle Bay UK Summer Sound Clash
Enjoy music via live DJ’s at eight different Turtle Bay UK restaurants this Summer at:
- BRIXTON – 4th – 7th July
- SWANSEA – 11th – 14th July
- LEEDS – 18th – 21st July
- MANCHESTER OXFORD ROAD – 1st – 4th August
- PETERBOROUGH – 8th – 11th August
- BRISTOL BROAD QUAY – 15th – 18th August
- CHELMSFORD – 22nd – 25th August
Thursday: Summer Sound Clash Thursday presents a feel-good start to the weekend with live music, rum masterclasses and sunshine-inspired Caribbean bites.
Friday: Step it up a gear with live reggae DJ sessions and rum-filled cocktails flowing!
Saturday: Kick off with a brunch party with the ultimate Caribbean twist, enjoy sunshine-inducing dishes such as our Big Kingston Grill Down or Avocado Smash, accompanied by bottomless Sunshine Bellini’s for just £25 per person. Enjoy infectious reggae beats with live music all day long!
Sunday: Sit down, breathe out, smile and relax as it’s time for a little limin’. Chill out to live DJ’s, share food and sip on rum as the weekend comes to an end.
Summer Sound Clash Rum Masterclass’s
The rum masterclass is not just all about rum but also comes with a sharing platter (meat or vegetarian)
The Rum Masterclasses are currently only available as part of Turtle Bay UK Summer Soundclash Festival.
£35 per person for a 1.5 hour long Masterclass.
Minimum booking size of 4 people, max 12.
Thank you Turtle Bay UK for a rum good time. This experience was complimentary from them but all views are of our honest opinion.
Click link below to read all write ups via those who joint me on the night for a Rum Masterclass plus about past other events I and others have enjoyed at Turtle Bay UK.
“I love going out discovering new and existing restaurants, theatres, immersive experiences and so much more but I also love staying in and discovering new gadgets, gaming and cooking.
