A Taste of Summer With Kenny Chesney's Rums

The line is especially harmonious in rum classics like the Piña Colada. (photos by Allister Ann)

Kenny Chesney had already experienced the euphoria of a packed arena, the excitement of number one hits, the beauty of many an evening in his beloved Virgin Islands.

But never, ever had he experienced a sunset quite like this.

“I saw more colors in the sky than I thought were possible,” Chesney wrote in his journal on that first day of the year 2001. “Everyone was quiet on the boat. No music, nothing really. It was just a beautiful silence watching another day slip away and a reminder that there is something much bigger out there than all of us.”

It’s a feeling the multi-platinum songwriter and entertainer wanted to bottle up.

“If I was going to create a rum, which is my drink of choice, I wanted it to be authentic, to try to capture my life in the islands,” Chesney says.

When he’s not touring, Chesney is most often kicking back in the Virgin Islands.

Finally, in 2013, Chesney launched Blue Chair Bay Rum; the brand, made entirely in the Caribbean, has steadily expanded since.

“Since the introduction of Coconut Rum Spiced, we have launched Banana Rum Cream, Key Lime Rum Cream and Pineapple Rum Cream, all with great success,” BCB President David Farmer exclusively told Wine and Whiskey Globe. “Combined, they represent almost 50 percent of our sales. I feel the creams bring a new dimension to the category with the natural flavors that taste fantastic when simply added to ice.”

And while so many of us might not be able to currently escape to an island right about now, there is a way to create that island feeling that Chesney cherishes, right in your own home.

Here are three favorite recipes.

The Island Girl

1.5 oz. Blue Chair Bay Coconut Rum

1 oz. orange juice

1 oz. pineapple juice

2 oz. lemon

lime soda

Build ingredients directly into tall glass with ice. Stir gently and garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

Skinny Piña Colada

1.5 oz. Blue Chair Bay Pineapple Rum Cream

Coconut sparkling water

Pineapple wedge, for garnish