Shopping on St. Croix: Spirited Wares

From mahogany furniture to rum and handcrafted jewelry, St. Croix offers a shopping bonanza of unusual gifts.

By Kathleen Mangan

Debbie Snow

Centuries ago, commerce in St. Croix centered on molasses and slaves, but now the colorful historic district in Christiansted features charming boutiques and galleries brimming with fine art, local crafts, gourmet food products and exquisite jewelry. Shoppers enjoy the selection of one-of-a-kind Crucian-made items, as well as the generous duty-free discounts and purchase allowances.

Christiansted's shopping district has a bustling West Indies feel with shops tucked into narrow alleys, piles of colorful merchandise, sidewalk displays and outdoor cafés. The stores are primarily concentrated in the six-block historic district boasting 18th- and 19th-century buildings from the days of Danish colonial rule.

Many fine artists and artisans draw their inspiration from the island's breathtaking scenery to produce paintings, sculptures, metal works, handblown glass, woodcarvings and ceramics.

Other Crucian-made treasures include mahogany furniture reproducing traditional designs from the sugar plantations, handwoven baskets, quadrille dancer dolls made of rattan, scented candles, natural body-care products and handcrafted jewelry.

Nature and history buffs should check out the museum stores at the Estate Whim Plantation, the St. Croix Landmarks Museum and the National Park Service headquarters. Golfers will want a shirt from the prestigious Carambola Golf Club, which features Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed links.

Shoppers will also find boutiques offering swimwear, fashion apparel, T-shirts, shoes and accessories. Other stores sell watches, sunglasses, home decor items, antiques, cameras, china and crystal.

Cruzan Rum is a popular purchase among island visitors, since it's made nearby. Go for the top-of-the-line Cruzan Estate Diamond Rum. You can buy it at the distillery or at shops around the island at significant savings. Also look for rum cakes and rum balls made with the spirit. Other gourmet treats include sea-grape wine, dried mango, tamarind balls and cookies.

How Rum is Made

By Mary Hull

Debbie Snow

What makes a person belly up to the bar and proclaim, "Cuba Libre!" What gives your piña colada its pizzazz? Rum. Here's how the Caribbean's most popular beverages get their start.

All rum begins as molasses, derived from Caribbean sugarcane.

The molasses is diluted with water and then mixed with yeast culture, which begins the fermenting process. Fermenting converts the sugars into alcohol.

The fermented mash is heated and continuously passed through stainless-steel and/or copper stills, filtering out the impurities. This stage provides the basis to create a variety of products, from light rums to more refined sipping rums.

The liquid is poured into oak barrels, where the most critical step takes place: aging. The wood of the barrels, combined with nature's elements (air temperature, humidity, etc.), affect the outcome of the rum itself. Up to 50 percent of a barrel's contents can be lost to evaporation during the aging process. Lighter rums, such as those used to make flavored rums, can be bottled in just a couple of years, whereas more complex sipping rums can take more than a decade to mature.

After aging, the rum is charcoal-filtered and diluted with purified water to the desired proof.

Hooked on Bracelets

Be sure to head home with a Crucian bangle on your arm.

By Chris Goodier

Steve Simonsen

Shoppers on St. Croix will find a special style of bracelets in island boutiques. The designs start with a wrapped bangle bracelet fastened by some sort of snazzy clasp a hook, knot or shackle - and some are embellished with gemstones and tropical motifs.

For almost 40 years, Sonya Ltd. has been selling "hook" bracelets from a tiny corner shop in downtown Christiansted. The tailored California "elephant hair" bracelets of the 1960s inspired owner Sonya Hough to craft a simple wrapped hoop. It soon caught on, inspired myriad variations, and even developed its own folklore: Wear the hook toward your heart to say you're taken; turn it away to show you're available. Either way, lots of love and good fortune are guaranteed.

At IB Designs, owner and "island boy" Whealan Massicott designs "feel good" bracelets in themes promoting peace, harmony and good karma, His signature piece, an especially popular item, is the infinity bracelet. A native of Dominica, Massicott operates his studio in a shop that is only the width of his doorway facing Company Street.

At the Caribbean Bracelet Co. shops, the traditional horseshoe-design hook is offered plain or decorated with enticing additions such as sapphires and diamonds. A favorite adornment here is larimar, an aqua-polished stone mined only in the Dominican Republic. Nature lovers will be captivated by bracelet clasps shaped like turtles, dolphins or even the lizards that scamper everywhere.

Crucian Gold on the Christiansted waterfront boardwalk specializes in another type of latching bangle, the Crucian Bracelet. Here, the signature feature is a two-strand knot-button latch derived from native-born Crucian Brian Bishop's nautical background as a sailor and professional diver. Bishop and his two sons design and manufacture everything in the shop, including Crucian Mill bracelets fashioned with gold replicas of windmills from St. Croix's sugar-plantation past.

The Gold Shop, found just off Strand Street, offers themed bracelet designs such as handsome anchors or shackles, ideal for sailors, and delicate hearts that women can't resist. Goldsmith Rob Low, like other island jewelers, has found inspiration from the USVI's rare tropical storms: A trio of diamonds, one for each of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, swirls around his Hurricane George bracelet.

You'll notice almost everyone here wearing St. Croix bracelets, even island babies. The bangles vary in price depending on width and are available in sterling silver, gold or a combination of both. Many stores offer trade-up policies permitting later exchanges to a different size, width or metal for a small fee and the price differential. And you can usually take home matching pendants, earrings, and rings or order them online after you leave.

Gold or silver? Hook bracelet or knot? Flora or fauna? If you are overwhelmed with choices, do as the locals do: Wear one of each tapering down your arm. No matter which style bracelet you select, expect to be asked by a stranger someday if you have visited the island; St. Croix bracelet-spotting is an international phenomenon.