While many of the traditions used to make a Caribbean Christmas are now only a memory, the making and consumption of guavaberry liquor is going strong on Tortola and in the region.

In the United States Virgin Islands, a radio station sponsored the first annual Guavaberry Liquor Competition and on St. Maarten, a factory and store called Guavaberry Emporium keeps the tradition in the minds of visitors and locals alike.

Here in the Virgin Islands the practice is kept alive by elders cooking up the liquor in kitchens around the islands and commercially by a local shop.

Joann Hill, of the VI Folk Museum, said she can remember that in her youth guavaberry liquor was one of the treats given to traveling carolers during the Christmas season.

“I remember the carolers coming out and my aunt giving them some [guavaberry liquor] when they were finished,” Hill remembered fondly. “They also used to give bongbong [cassava] bread and salt pork traditional to the season.”

The tradition all starts with the guavaberry, a fruit about half the size of a cherry that are yellow-orange or dark red, according to a description on www.guavaberry.com, the on-line home of the Guavaberry Emporium on St. Maarten. Some say, only experts can tell the difference between liquor made between the two varieties. Each berry contains only a small amount of translucent juicy bittersweet flesh around a stone.

Young trees are bushy, while mature trees can grow up to 60 feet tall. The trees are hard to grow, and unusually, the fruit grows directly on the branches without a stem. The red-brown limbs of the tree are flimsy, making it difficult to reach the fruit without a ladder. The trees bear fruits at different times each year, and sometimes bear no crop at all, according to the website.

Guavaberries were difficult to find this year, according to Sunny Caribbee’s manager Gregory Gunter. At the store on

“Our varieties are superior because they are made in small batches, not in 100 gallon drums like the factory in St. Maarten,” Gunter said. Guavaberry liquor is a holiday tradition that goes back for a long time, and even though it is extremely popular this time of year, he said they have plenty for sale.

For years, Jennie Wheatley said she has been making guavaberry liquor for herself and her family.

“It’s not so hard to make. We are trying to make up our own recipe, but we don’t measure much – just throw it all in,”

Wheatley said. She said it is important to soak the berries in a good rum for a couple of months to draw the flavour out, and make a syrup out of sugar with spices like cinnamon and vanilla. Tasting as she goes, she can decide how strong it needs to be. Some do not put much rum in because it is a “ladies drink”, Wheatley said.

She describes the taste as a sweet red wine, and she prefers the black berries over the yellow ones for her concoction. Even though the drink does not taste strong, the holiday spirit takes a while to kick in, she said.

“It tastes like nothing will go wrong if you drink a lot of it, but it can creep up on you,” Wheatley said with a laugh.

Wheatley makes the liquor for friends and family only, and said it would not be Christmas without it. And though her whole family loves it, none of them have learned how to make it themselves, but she seems to have hopes that will change. Several other liquors have died out, she said, like sea-grape wine and sorrel liquor, but guavaberry wine seems to be going strong.

Naomi Grigg, a local guavaberry liquor maker, said her recipe has been in high demand this year. The liquor is a tradition on St. Thomas , Tortola and St. Croix, and it seems her recipe has been described as one of the best on Tortola .  “A lot of people have been calling and asking how I make it,” Grigg said, not afraid to share her recipe. “Some say ‘it’s the best I have ever tasted.’ I don’t know why it is special but it seems to be.”

Grigg said the earlier you get the berries and start soaking them, the better the liquor will be. She begins by cooking the berries like she is going to make jam and then cover them with rum.

She soaks them with raisens and prunes and then uses the fruit to make a tart.

She does not sell her liquor, but has it around during the holidays to share with friends and family.

After a brief conversation, Grigg invited me to come by and sample her liquor, leading me to believe what makes her guavaberry liquor so good is the essential ingredients of Caribbean hospitality and Christmas cheer.