Day Trips and Drinks: Annapolis

Ever since my husband and I returned from our honeymoon to the Virgin Islands last August, we've been searching and searching to find the exact drinks we had down there. His favorite was the Painkiller and mine was called the Bushwacker. The resort we stayed in, Sugar Bay, was all-inclusive, meaning we could have as many of these drinks whenever we wanted. I'm sure each one was 500 calories each, but whatever - it was so worth it (and every bride deserves those calories after the wedding!). 

Me with my first-ever Bushwacker from The Beach Bar - St. John, USVI

Well, we finally found a place nearby that claimed to make the true version of these drinks (meaning that they use only Pusser's Rum). It was only about an hour up the road in Annapolis, Maryland: Pusser's Caribbean Grill! Perfect! We couldn't wait to plan a trip to Annapolis to try them out and compare them to the true USVI version.

A few weeks ago my friend Hadley asked us if we'd like to do a quick Annapolis trip with her and her boyfriend and another couple. We knew this was our chance. Thankfully the restaurant our trusty travel guide Hadley chose was, you guessed it, Pusser's!

We drove up to Annapolis Saturday morning, and it was such a quick drive from DC. I had only been to Annapolis once as kid and barely remembered it. We spent the day walking around, trying out the go-to spots. We had to grab crabcakes at Chick & Ruth's Delly and tour the US Naval Academy. The campus was gorgeous and it was interesting to see. The girls shopped at the cute little boutiques while the guys beer-hopped.

Rainy but beautiful Annapolis

On the USNA campus

Finally Saturday night came and it was time to try the drinks. With our fingers crossed we ordered them and they were PERFECT! We were so excited and it really made us reminisce about that awesome week back in August. Counting the days until we can go back to try the real thing once again.

The group at Pusser's

Here's the recipe for each drink - I've never "tried this at home" but I definitely want to try now. Since the restaurant itself was called Pusser's, it had a legit gift shop selling the hard-to-find rum, but the gift store was closed by the time we made it. As soon as we can find some, you can bet I will be trying this at home.

Thanks for a fun weekend Hadley & co!

Painkiller & Bushwacker