Swanky

Swanky is limes, water, brown sugar and a pinch of salt, and it was what Caymanian men drank at sea and in the fields, mixed in quantity and drunk warm because there was no ice. The salt is the part that matters: working in the sun all day loses salt as well as water, and the drink was designed for exactly that, long before anyone marketed an electrolyte. It is still made at heritage days and district events in large containers and served in cups, and it is better than it sounds. Alongside it sit sorrel at Christmas and the coconut water sold from roadside coolers.

What you actually see

• Swanky - lime, brown sugar, water and a pinch of salt.
• The salt - the point of it, for people working in the sun.
• Sorrel - the red hibiscus drink made at Christmas.
• Heritage day servings - mixed in bulk and ladled into cups.

When to go

Heritage days during Pirates Week in November are the reliable place to find it. Some local kitchens make it year-round. Sorrel appears in December. It is not on hotel menus.

Honest expectations

It is not sold commercially in any real way and finding it means being at a district event or asking in a local kitchen. It is simple to the point of plain and some visitors wonder what the fuss is. The salt surprises people who are not expecting it.

Nearby

District heritage days in November; local kitchens across the islands.