Ingredients
What to buy
- Banks lager
- in bottles, ice cold
- brewed in Barbados
- see the note on why no method is given
To serve
- as cold as you can get it
- from the bottle
- or in a chilled glass
To eat with
- flying fish and cou-cou
- fish cakes
- macaroni pie
- pudding and souse
- with Bajan pickle
- grilled marlin or mahi-mahi
- roast breadfruit
Directions
- Serve it as cold as you can.
- Warm, a light lager is thin and dull. Cold, it does what it is built for.
- Roast breadfruit. A cold light beer is the obvious partner to that.
- Keep it cold and out of the light.
Technique
- The atlas gives no method because Banks is a specific branded commercial lager whose recipe belongs to the brewery. Home brewing beer is legal in many countries and legality is not the reason — the reason is that this is a branded product. The Kalik and Sands entries carry the fuller account.
- Serve it as cold as you can. Warm, a light lager is thin and dull; cold, it does what it is built for.
- The rum shop is a social institution rather than merely a bar — a small neighbourhood shop and bar together, where rum is sold by the bottle to a table, beer is drunk alongside, and dominoes are played loudly. Barbados is said to have well over a thousand.
- Barbados became independent in 1966 and Banks has been brewed since 1961. The atlas records the sequence without claiming a connection it cannot support.
- Cou-cou is cornmeal and okra cooked to a soft mound, served with fried or steamed flying fish — the national dish. The flying fish appears on the country’s coat of arms.
- Catches of flying fish have shifted and the fishery has changed over decades. The atlas records that the question exists without asserting current stock levels.
- Barbadian food is peppery and sharp, which is exactly what a cold light beer is for. Bajan pickle goes with all of it.
- Barbados has a long-documented claim in the history of rum, and Mount Gay dates its origins to the eighteenth century. The atlas records that claim as the claim it is.
- Drinking in strong sun dehydrates faster than people expect — drink water alongside.
- Do not drink alcohol if you are pregnant, driving, or handling a boat.
- Keep it cold and out of the light, which gives beer an off flavour. It does not improve with age.
Substitutions
- Any clean pale Caribbean lager stands in — Carib, Kalik, Sands, Presidente, Red Stripe.
- Barbadian rum with soda is the local alternative at the same bar.
- Mauby, the bitter bark drink, is the traditional non-alcoholic option.
- Coconut water is what people drink in real heat.
- Sorrel, the hibiscus drink, is the Christmas one.
- Ginger beer works alongside the same food.
Variations
- Deputy, a stronger beer, is brewed by the same company.
- Kalik and Sands are the Bahamian equivalents.
- Carib in Trinidad fills the same role.
- Barbadian rum punch is the other thing served at a rum shop.
- Corn ‘n’ Oil is the island’s falernum-based cocktail.
- Mauby is the bitter soft drink drunk at the same tables.
History
Brewed in Barbados since 1961 and marketed as the beer of Barbados alongside the island’s rums.
Frequently asked questions
What is Banks?
Banks is a wine & spirit from Barbados: pale lager drunk cold at rum shops and cricket grounds. Brewed in Barbados since 1961 and marketed as the beer of Barbados alongside the island’s rums.
How long does Banks take to make?
Banks takes 2 minutes of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes buy by the bottle. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Banks?
Yes, within limits. Any clean pale Caribbean lager stands in — Carib, Kalik, Sands, Presidente, Red Stripe. Barbadian rum with soda is the local alternative at the same bar. Mauby, the bitter bark drink, is the traditional non-alcoholic option. Coconut water is what people drink in real heat. Sorrel, the hibiscus drink, is the Christmas one. Ginger beer works alongside the same food.
What is the most important thing to get right in Banks?
The rum shop is a social institution rather than merely a bar — a small neighbourhood shop and bar together, where rum is sold by the bottle to a table, beer is drunk alongside, and dominoes are played loudly. Barbados is said to have well over a thousand.
