what is meant by "west indies" rum in drink recipes?

I've seen this listed in recipes for a Puka Punch, for a Moonkist Coconut, and seems like one or two other drinks i can't recall.

does it mean wildcard/mixer's choice?

does it mean anything from the caribbean islands aside from Puerto Rico, Jamaica, or Martinique (as those rums are usually specified by geographic origin in recipes)?

is it code for gold rum?

for Cuban, or for Barbados rums perhaps?

any consensus out there?

Malibu Cocunut Rum!!! :D

I have always taken it as a wild card. West Indies = Caribbean. That can include Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Barbados..... So, I typically use Mount Gay when a West Indies is indicated. I see that the Moonkist already calls for a Barbados rum, so maybe use Appleton V/X.

West Indies and Caribbean are interchangeable names for the archipelago.

I tend to select rums from the British West Indies when facing this dilemma.

I was trying to make Moon Kissed Coconut last night and the recipe calls for West Indies rum. Ordinarily I use Pyrat Pistol but I was curious to see what I will find if I search TC first and then the net. So on this lazy Sunday I found all of these pictures. There was a lot of old pictures, some are designed so well I couldn't resist posting them, all in all it was fun searching.

I asked Mike senior at Tiki-Ti what it meant, and he said, "Any dark rum."

Great pics Hiltiki! That is fun stuff.

As a rule, "West Indies" UNofficially tends to mean the English-speaking Caribbean Islands, much like "the Antilles" tends to UNofficially mean the Spanish-speaking islands.

I use a Doorly's XO in those cases where the recipe calls for West Indies rum.

West Indies Rum is the stuff you get here :

:) (Thanks to Jochen and Boris)

Great topic and great picture Sven!