Sunshine's Beach Bar sits on Pinney's Beach in Nevis. It grew from a single timber hut on the sand into one of the most photographed bars in the Caribbean, but the centre of it never moved. Llewellyn Caines still works most evenings, and the drink most people come for is the Killer Bee.
It has been the same drink for forty years. Rum, citrus, and one ingredient Llewellyn Caines will not name. It comes out bright orange and colder than seems reasonable, and the first one goes down faster than anyone planned.
People ask what is in it. They have asked since the bar opened. He pours another and changes the subject. The recipe lives in his head and stays there; the barbacks know parts, never the whole. A drink stays that consistent only when one person guards it.
A few things are safe to say. Rum, and plenty of it. Citrus. A fruit element for the colour. And one more, possibly hot, possibly sweet, possibly both. The internet has theories. Most are wrong, and he corrects no one.
Forty years have changed the edges. More chairs now. A kitchen turning out grilled lobster and conch fritters at lunch. A small shop for the t-shirts. Pinney's itself is busier than it was. But the bar opens on time, closes when Llewellyn says, and pours the Killer Bee exactly as it always has. The drink stayed small, and staying small is what made it large.
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