Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Rum

I happened upon the Plantation Pineapple Rum by pure happenstance. I do love experiencing new rums, especially with interesting flavour infusions. I’ve had Plantation before, and quite enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for this special batch.

WHAT IS PLANTATION STIGGINS’ FANCY PINEAPPLE RUM

Plantation is a much finer rum than it’s age and price point suggests and is decidedly a much better rum than the recent Cross Keys. The Pineapple batch I’m currently sipping neat is double infused. While the bark of the pineapple is infused in the Plantation 3 Star, the fruit is infused in Plantation Dark. The bark infusion is further distilled, then both are blended to the beautiful rum I’m enjoying. The Stiggins reference hails from Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers, and the character Reverend Stiggins who enjoyed a pineapple rum. I was an English major my first time through college, so I have a special love for literary references, even if I don’t particularly care for Dickens.

HOW DOES IT TASTE

The pineapple smell hits. But not in a way a lot of more mainstream liquors and liqueurs hit. It doesn’t smell syrupy sweet and artificial. On first sip, you taste the warmth of the rum, and that’s when the pineapple hits. It really tastes exactly like rum-infused pineapple/pineapple-infused rum SHOULD taste. You’ve got the smokey sweet of the rum, and just the right amount of pineapple to give the taste a little boost, but not overpower or dominate the swallow. It’s nice and sweet, and definitely worth the glass.

BEST WAY TO DRINK IT

I drank Pineapple neat. It was an enjoyably smooth swallow of a rum. I could definitely sit and sip this all night long. Drinking it over ice brings out the sweetness and flavour of the pineapple to make it really pop. I stick pretty classic in my mojitos with silver rum, but with how good the flavouring is on pineapple rum, I’d be hard pressed to turn down a dirty mojito made with it. Any number of tropical drinks would only benefit from using this rum, as opposed to trying a pineapple liqeur or syrup for the taste. It all comes down to how artificial and uber sweet those taste, and it can really distract from the overall taste of the drink. But the pineapple is subtle enough in this rum that it will enhance, not ruin, any cocktail it’s used in.

DO I RECOMMEND

I would definitely recommend this rum. It’s one of the better neat rums I’ve ever had, is just as good over ice, and has a myriad of possibilities both mixed and in cocktails. Plantation Rum, the original recipes, are fantastic rums that I will eventually review for you (I write glass in hand, and would never attempt to do so from memory, so next time I pick up a bottle all bets are off). But then infusing it with pineapple pushes this rum to an extra level.If you’re entertaining and mixing cocktails of a more tropical variety, this should definitely be on your list, especially if you’re considering more sugary sweet liqeurs for your mixed drinks. This adds in flavour, but doesn’t sacrifice taste at all. And as an aside, I did add a splash of this to a pineapple chicken dish I cooked over the weekend, as I am wont to do, and as this rum would enhance a cocktail, it definitely enhanced the dish.