🥃 Malibu

Malibu is a coconut liqueur based on Caribbean rum, now made in Barbados. It is 21% ABV, so under EU rules it is not rum but a liqueur with rum and coconut flavouring. Since 2005 the brand has belonged to the French group Pernod Ricard; in countries where the law allows, it is sold as “flavored rum”.

The drink was devised by Tom Jago of the British company International Distillers & Vintners (IDV); Wikipedia dates it to 1978, while some sellers write of the 1980s. The idea was practical: bartenders wanted to make the piña colada more easily, a drink that combines rum with coconut and pineapple. At first the drink was made in Curaçao, and when it became popular, production moved to Barbados, to the West Indies Rum Distillery. In 2002 the owner sold the brand to the Allied Domecq group, and in 2005 Malibu passed to Pernod Ricard along with its assets.

The composition on the Pernod Ricard page: Caribbean rum (a distillate of molasses or cane-based raw material), water, sugar and a flavouring with coconut extract. The rum, according to the owner, is distilled at a distillery on the coast of Barbados. A VinePair study notes that brand representatives do not disclose where and how exactly the spirit is made, so we do not describe the precise technology.

The core range is Malibu Original (coconut), plus Malibu Watermelon and Passion Fruit; all three are 21% ABV. In various years the brand has also released other fruit versions.

Why this matters to you. The word “rum” on a bottle of Malibu does not mean rum in the legal sense: in the EU, rum must be at least 37.5% ABV and unflavoured, while Malibu is 21% and contains coconut extract. The liqueur is sweet because it contains sugar. So replacing rum with Malibu in a recipe will change both the taste and the strength of the drink. The WHO reminds us that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.