Rumhuys | Rum Blending House & Workshop
Best Rum Experience in St. Maarten 2026 – by We Are SXM, Tourist Info Center
“Blend your own bottle of Caribbean spiced rum at Rumhuys, the premium rum blending house on Front Street in Philipsburg, just five minutes from the Sint Maarten cruise pier.”
Long before cruise ships filled Great Bay, Dutch sailors crossed the Atlantic chasing salt, sugar, and spice — and at the end of every voyage they searched for one thing: the rum huys. In old Dutch, huys simply meant “house”, and a rum huys was the harbor-side house where seafarers traded stories and topped up their flasks before sailing on. Rumhuys revives that tradition on Front Street in Philipsburg, five minutes from the cruise pier.
This is Sint Maarten’s only dedicated rum-blending house, and the newest addition to Philipsburg, owned by Raphael. Here, the old legend gets a hands-on twist: instead of buying a bottle off the shelf, you blend a rum that tastes exactly the way you like it. Built around pure Caribbean agricultural rum and real island spices, every experience turns visitors into blenders — and sends them home with a bottle no one else in the world owns.
Discover more in our island experiences guide.
The centerpiece is the Make Your Own Rum Workshop, a 90-minute session where you are the blender, not a spectator. Guided by the in-house rum master, you begin with a taste of the five Rumhuys house blends and a short introduction to Caribbean rum history.
Then you take the base — pure agricultural rum pressed from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses — and shape it with natural Caribbean spices like cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and nutmeg, as well as tropical fruit extracts from mango, coconut, passion fruit, and lime. Add some island botanicals to round it up to create your very own flavor!
There are no artificial flavors and no added sugar, so what you create tastes genuinely of Sint Maarten. Your finished bottle is filled, corked, wax-sealed & labeled with your name, and you leave with a recipe card to recreate it at home.
Prefer to taste rather than blend? The Rum Journey guided tasting walks you through all five house blends in 45 minutes, while the self-guided Treasure Hunt follows pirate Jack Rackham’s clues through historic Philipsburg and ends with a rum tasting back at the house.
Why Visit Rumhuys in Philipsburg?
- Blend your own custom bottle of Caribbean spiced rum — you are the blender
- Just a 5-minute walk from the Philipsburg cruise terminal
- Pure agricultural rum and real island spices — no artificial flavors
- Leave with a wax-sealed bottle labeled with your name and recipe card
- Three experiences from $15: workshop, guided tasting, or treasure hunt
- Welcome tasting of all five house blends included in the workshop
- Offered in English, French, Dutch, and Spanish — groups up to 200+
- GSTC-certified, TripAdvisor-rated, free cancellation up to 48 hours
Pricing & Cancellation
- Make Your Own Rum Workshop — from $69 per person · 90 min · personalized bottle included
- The Rum Journey (Guided Tasting) — from $15 per person · 45 min · all five house blends
- Treasure Hunt, Philipsburg — $20 adults / $12 children · 60 min · self-guided, ends with a tasting
- Free cancellation up to 48 hours before · booking confirmation within 24 hours
- Open daily when cruise ships are in port, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Rum Huys | Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, easy overview:
Submit your review | |
We had a great time. We learned a lot about piratry in the Carribean. Fun activity with the kids, even on a rainy day.
Came with some friends and kids, everybody loved it. Something really new for SXM and lots of fun for Kids & adults. Raphael and Anouk are super friendly and take great care of you. Recommendation to visit!
Raphael heeft er echt iets moois van gemaakt, het zeker een leuke ervaring voor jong en oud.
Het winkeltje was toen nog niet klaar. Maar de rum heb ik al wel geproefd en is super lekker
Was lucky to be one of the first ones to experience this tour, when owner Raphael showed me around. A very unique adventure thats new to Sint Maarten. This definitely brings technology to a next level for a Caribbean Island. The story is nicely told and once you exit the show you feel a little bit like a pirate haha. (Reminded me of the old days as a kid).
Can definitely recommend this fun tour and nice bar with beautiful views, was also surprised by the nice shirts and souvenirs they have. Am now proudly wearing a "Rusty Parrot, Pirate Experience" T-Shirt!