This Capitol Hill bar cuts across a continent, bringing sun-starved Seattleites directly to the shores of the Caribbean Sea. The bar snakes around the room like water hugging a coastline, encouraging a melting of the Seattle freeze as patrons are forced to (gasp!) look toward each other. The bold turquoise-blue seats add pops of color rarely seen in tandem with the flannel and fleece of the local uniform. But neither the bartenders nor the patrons here are beach bums: Rumba, with one of the biggest selections of rum in the country, caters to rum nerds. NAOMI TOMKY