The charming city of George Town is the capital of the Cayman Islands. It’s a global financial hub, the port of call for ships cruising to Grand Cayman, and a colorful spot for boat tours, beaches, snorkeling, scuba diving, art galleries, rum distillery tours, as well as shopping and eating.
Whether you live and work on Island or have just arrived on vacation, Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits is ready to serve all of your beverage shopping needs in George Town. You’ll find our flagship store at 16 N. Sound Road at the corner of Shedden Road.
As the leading retailer of premium wines, beers and spirits in the Cayman Islands, Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits offers the widest selection as well as FREE delivery to anywhere in Grand Cayman.
A Brief History
Although visited by the Caribbean’s sea-faring indigenous peoples who had settlements in Jamaica, Cuba, and Central America, Christopher Columbus is credited with being the first European explorer to discover the islands in 1503. He named them “Las Tortugas” for their abundance of sea turtles and claimed them for Spain.
Over the next 150 years, pirates and privateers, shipwrecked sailors, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, and ships in search of fresh meat and water for their crews, stopped in the Islands while passing through the Western Caribbean.
In 1670, the islands became a British crown colony as a dependency of Jamaica after Jamaica had been captured from the Spanish. Britain named them the Cayman Islands (after “caymanas”, a Carib word for crocodiles), and the first permanent settlers arrived in the early 1700s. The Cayman Islands would become a separate British colony in 1959 and a British Overseas Territory in 2009.
George Town eventually became the Cayman capital because its natural harbor offered a safe anchorage for ships. Today, the waterfront area carries the name Hog Sty Bay, representing the town’s original name, the Hogsties or Hogstyes, so called because pigs were raised there to provide meat and fat for passing ships.
Exploring George Town
If you’re interested in George Town’s history and heritage, start at the Cayman Islands National Museum. It’s the oldest public building in the Cayman Islands, dating back to the 1800s.
About one block from the cruise ship pier, at Fort Street and Harbour Drive, you’ll find the remains of tiny Fort George, the 1790 fortress built to protect the port from attacks by Spanish marauders and pirates.
Visit nearby Bayshore Mall to view the Step-Well through a pane of glass in the floor. It’s the oldest historic structure in Cayman and is believed to have been one of the few sources of fresh water for ships passing through the Western Caribbean in the early 1700s.
Check out Elmslie Memorial Church which is named after Presbyterian Missionary, the Rev. James Elmslie, who preached in the Cayman Islands in the 1840s. The chapel was built in 1922 by naval architect Capt. Rayal Bodden from salvaged mahogany from shipwrecks, and the roof resembles a ship’s hull turned upside down.
If you are outside Georgetown, Cayman Islands, and want to shop in person for something unique, Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits has stores that serve every district in Grand Cayman from West Bay to East End. Buy your spirits in our liquor stores or order online for free delivery and maximum convenience!
