Malibu Original Rum

Rating: 11/23 N: Yep, I smell that coconut. There's also some ethanol. That's really about it. P: The coconut flavor is quite present. It tastes fairly artificial to me, but I often think that even real coconut milk tastes kind of artificial because of its weird bitter flavor, so I could be totally wrong about this. The light rum certainly exacerbates that aspect of this though. I certainly taste the ethanol and I think that combined with the light fruitiness is what's weirding me out here. Overall, I don't want to drink it, but it strikes me as fine as a mixer. At least it's smooth and although it has some artificial flavors to it, they don't punch me in the face. F: That bitter coconut flavor, possibly with a light metallic note, continues long into the finish. Unfortunately, the better parts of the profile drop out. For a tropical drink that uses rum and could benefit from a little bit of coconut flavor, this would probably work just fine. Really though, some overproof rum and real coconut milk would be a much better choice. That said, for a quick and easy cocktail, works pretty well. Even without being mixed, it tastes OK. I wouldn't want to drink it neat, but despite being bland it isn't really offensive. I'm thinking an 8 to 11 overall for this, with it being an 8 to 10 neat (and more likely a 9 to 10). As a mixer, I think it earns that bump up to an 11.

Nose: Dilute artificial coconut essence. Huge vanilla note. Palate: Sugar water. Thin coconut flavour, a tiny buzz of ethanol. Finish: Short. Sweet. This is exactly as I expected. It’s not actually foul-tasting, but it’s weirdly nebulous and almost attractively artificial. The official tasting notes are absolutely right – it tastes exactly of coconut without actually tasting of coconut. Actually, in a funny way it reminds me of vanilla cake icing. It’s also about as far removed from rum as anything I can imagine, but again, it’s not nasty. There’s little more to say. Add your choice of soft drink [lemonade or ginger beer work very well] or tropical juice [iconically, pineapple of course] and bang – instant low alcohol cooler. There are way worse things to drink, but just every now and then try making a real piña colada from scratch – it’s ... better. 1 part nice crisp silver rum (doesn't have to be expensive), 1 part coconut cream, 3 parts freshly squeezed pineapple juice. Shake well with crushed ice and serve. Summertime bliss. In a funny way I can respect Malibu – like Sailor Jerry it has no pretensions or snobbery about it at all – it just says “have fun”. There are worse philosophies. “Adequate” : 73/100 (2.25 stars)

Love this - especially with ice and coke

Delicious considering the price. Have a great time mixing or going neat. Chilled or not. For less than $10 it's great.