Behind the Booze - Interviews, Season 1

Episode 019 | Behind the Booze, Rip Ty’d Brewing Interview with Christine Albury

Listen here!

Grab a tropical drink and soak up those vacay vibes as the Boozy Blondes share their interview with Christine Albury, owner of Rip Ty’d Brewing in Nassau, Bahamas! During a port day in Nassau on a recent weekend cruise, the girls set out to find this adorable brewery they had noticed online before their trip. A bit off the beaten path, it’s a quick 15 minute walk east on Bay Street and south one block on Armstrong Street. Basically, when you get off the ship, take a left on Bay Street away from the Straw Market and Senior Frogs.

(Quick disclaimer – the girls’ shirts were hand-selected by the Boozy Bros in the first tourist shop they found on Bay Street. Each person chose a touristy tee for someone else to wear.)

The DOE is the Tipsy Mermaid. So cute! It’s Rip Ty’d’s watermelon pilsner, vodka, cranberry juice, club soda and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Rip Ty’d Brewing opened about 3 years ago. Christine’s late husband Tyrone had brewed beer about 25 years ago, and one day she and her business partner decided to learn how to brew the old recipe (currently on tap at Rip Ty’d, called Fools Gold, a 4% EPA). After mastering the recipe, they began to test the product in the market and had a very positive response. Soon later, Rip Ty’d Brewing was born.

The Rip Ty’d building is home to the brewery, tap room and beer garden. The tap room is designed with Nassau’s rich history and culture in mind. The centerpiece is the bar. It is an old sloop that had coincidentally been caught up in rip tide. The taps are hand-carved mermaids and mermaid tails. Old family postcards of Nassau’s landscape and original trades like straw work and sponging have been transformed to art pieces, allowing guests a look at how the island has changed over the years. When inside Rip Ty’d, you truly feel a heartbeat; you feel part of the Rip Ty’d family, and you feel part of the rich Nassau culture.

Rip Ty’d offers four to seven beers on tap depending on the season and also offers craft cocktails, serving whisky, vodka and tequila. (The girls each took delicious margaritas to go for their walking drinks back to the ship!) During their visit, four beers were on tap, so the girls tried them all! Fools Gold, Loose Goat Porter (7%), Island Hopper IPA (6.5%) and Farmer’s Daughter Pilsner (6%).

The beer garden is home to fun events and food truck nights! Be sure to follow Rip Ty’d on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the happenings – there could be a fun event during your visit to Nassau!

Listen to Christine’s interview to hear about what it takes to run a successful brewery, challenges to brewing on an island and her expansion plans for Rip Ty’d. Make sure to visit Rip Ty’d Brewing next time you’re in the Bahamas and share your pictures with the Boozy Blondes! It’s truly an authentic place to visit in Nassau with a Bahamian made product. There are very few places like Rip Ty’d, so be sure to wander over and enjoy the craft beer and craft cocktails tucked away on a nostalgic street in Nassau.

(For more Rip Ty’d fun, listen to Episode 043 | Booze Cruise Vol. 2 when the girls go back to the Bahamas and visit Christine!)

Season 1, Travel - Where to Drink

Episode 013 | Booze Cruise Vol. 1

Listen here!

In this episode the Boozy Blondes get in vacation mode, sipping their official go-to cruise drinks, talking all things cruising. If you could consider cruising a sport, the girls would take first place every time. Chrissy is an old vet at the cruise game and taught Molly her ways – even though she has a long way to catch up to Chrissy’s experience, Molly is a quick learner and together the girls absolutely crush cruising.

The DOE and official go-to cruise drink is spiced rum and ginger beer. At home, the girls typically use Captain Morgan or Sailor Jerry’s for rum, but they are split on the ginger beer. Chrissy prefers Goya brand for its extra spice and Molly prefers Fever Tree or Q Mixers (because she doesn’t like flavor especially spice).

When on the cruises, the girls go with Kraken rum while the boys love Zacapa. On Chrissy’s group birthday cruise in 2019, the group was known as the Zacapa crew; all the bartenders knew that’s what the group was drinking when they’d walk up to the bars!

For years Molly was convinced she should never step foot on a cruise ship. Every time she was invited, and even times when she had them booked, something would happen that prevented her from going. Finally in 2018 the sun and the stars and the moon aligned, and her butt got on that ship. And she was hooked! “Cruise Molly” is the happiest person you will ever meet, and Chrissy was thrilled because her partner in crime would now scheme with her to get on even more cruises.

So even though the girls are obsessed and highly recommend cruising anytime you can, cruising is not for everyone. While the girls have avoided getting seasick, some people are more sensitive to that. Others feel claustrophobic being stuck on the ship. And there are stereotypes with cruising – the short weekend cruises are non-stop partying benders and the week-long cruises are full of old people. Just remember, it’s what YOU make it.

At time of recording, the girls have only ever cruised on Royal Caribbean (since then, Chrissy has cruised overseas on a different cruise line), and they love it. The following information applies to cruising on Royal Caribbean – the girls aren’t sure if the same rules apply on other cruise lines.

Most if not all cruise lines have a private island, and Royal Caribbean’s CocoCay has really upped its game over the years. In 2019, they opened the newly renovated island. They built a dock all the way to the ship so you no longer have to take a tender (those are not fun) and built cabanas, pools and a water park!

So as Boozy Blondes, the girls are huge fans of purchasing the drink package ahead of time – the deluxe beverage package which includes booze, of course. Before your cruise, watch the website for sales because it’s close to $100/day without any discounts. Having peace of mind when it comes to an all-inclusive experience makes the girls happy, as opposed to keeping track of how many drinks they’ve had and wondering what that final bill will look like at the end of the cruise. The drink package also works on the private island, so you don’t have to pay for your drinks individually there – there are exceptions, like the pineapple drinks. Those are not included. They are super sticky, but make great pictures!

The drink package includes bottled water, coffee, discounts on bottles of wine and tastings too! Speaking of wine, you are also allowed to bring two bottles per stateroom on board with you. Even if you purchase the drink package, it’s nice to have these bottles in your room for while you’re getting ready or relaxing on the balcony. #backupbooze

The girls put together some lists for you – including their favorite things about cruising, pro-tips, packing tips and general things you need to know.

Favorite things:

  1. The fact that you wake up in a new place every day
  2. Great for group trips – everyone does their own booking, can customize to their preferences
  3. It’s a choose your own adventure trip – so many options
  4. The themed parties (provided by ship or you plan one for your group)
  5. All the games – trivia, bingo, casino
  6. Live music
  7. Dinners – gluttonous but so fun and always delicious
  8. Drink package – the girls love getting boozy “for free” (they pay ahead of time, they know)

Pro tips:

  1. Watch for discounts online and purchase packages and excursions before you leave
  2. Bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom on board
  3. Go to Windjammer in the AM – they sometimes have carts with mimosa and other drinks
  4. Make friends with your servers – they will take excellent care of you and customize your dining experience

Things to know:

  1. Tips/gratuity is included in price of cruise, but bring cash for servers and housekeeping for end of trip
  2. No irons in room – can get laundry service
  3. Some cruises come with drink packages and some offer different tiers
  4. You can reserve event space for private parties – and some rooms are free! Others you pay for with private bar and bartender
  5. For the drink package, all persons in stateroom must buy it if one person does
  6. You can get non-alcohol drink packages
  7. You can order water service to have bottles delivered to your room

Packing Tips:
(listen to Pack Like a Booze Traveler for more ideas)

  1. Inner tubes + bungees
  2. Special cruise cups (like the boozy blondes cups above)
  3. Plastic bags for wet clothes
  4. Dry erase boards
  5. Lanyard + hole punch
  6. Command or 3M hooks
  7. Pump hand soap

It’s always good to research your ports before you go. While the cruise line offers excursions, you can find some pretty awesome places on your own. The girls found Rip Ty’d in Nassau on their most recent cruise, and met Christine, the owner, while they were there. Watch for the Behind the Booze episode to launch later this year!

Do you have pro tips for the girls when it comes to cruising? Please share them in the comments!