It shouldn’t have been such a long flight. The direct flight from Los Angeles to Belize City is around four hours and twenty minutes. However, when your red-eye is delayed for seven hours, subjecting you to one of those miserable nights playing contortionist in an airport lounge (“lounge” feeling extra ironic in moments like those), in the morning, everything feels longer than you’d like it to.

Which is why the thing I’ll forever equate to Copal Tree Lodge is the glass of fresh ginger juice we were given when we arrived. Its hot potency balanced by a simple sugarcane syrup, added lime, and cool sparkling water, was exactly the kind of life-giving potion everyone should know about. It’s a reset button in liquid form.

The bar program at Copal Tree Lodge does a fantastic job of re-introducing classics like a daiquiri or dark-and-stormy through the lens of its homegrown additions. You’ll find the farm’s turmeric, allspice, citrus, banana, and especially its ginger, all headlining their rotating cocktail menu. The star, however, is the hand-harvested sugarcane in the form of Copalli Rum. It’s distinguishable enough to drink all on its own, but trust me when I say this: when given the choice, add some ginger.

If you can’t make it to Copal Tree Lodge any time soon, then The Belizean Howler Monkey is the next best thing to strolling up their front steps. Take a sip, close your eyes, and tell me you don’t feel a breeze.