Malibu is a coconut flavored

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyon ...

, made with

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

, and possessing an alcohol content by volume of 21.0 % (42

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a c ...

). As of 2017 the ''Malibu'' brand is owned by

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also pro ...

, who calls it a "flavored rum", where this designation is allowed by local laws.

History

The product was created by

Tom Jago Thomas Edwin Jago (21 July 1925 – 12 October 2018) was a Cornish liquor executive and marketeer known as the creator of Baileys Irish Cream, Malibu (flavoured rum) and Johnnie Walker Blue Label. During his semi-retirement, he co-foundeThe La ...

International Distillers & Vintners International Distillers & Vintners was a brewing and wine and spirits distribution company, formed from the 1962 merger of W&A Gilbey and United Wine Traders. Founders W&A Gilbey was founded in 1857 as a gin distillery by Walter Gilbey, Sir Walte ...

, and originally made from fruit spirits, flavored with rum and coconut flavoring in

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coa ...

. Originally, the product was used to simplify the making of piña coladas by bartenders. When the product took off, the production was then moved to

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

, where the rum is made by West Indies Rum Distillery Ltd., and the quality of the ingredients used was improved. The brand was sold by

Diageo Diageo plc () is a multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweichow Moutai of China in 201 ...

Allied Domecq Allied Domecq PLC was an international company, headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, that operated spirits, wine, and quick service restaurant businesses. It was once a FTSE 100 Index constituent but has been acquired by Pernod Ricard. The ...

for £560m ($800m) in 2002. In 2005, French company

purchased Allied Domecq for $14 billion. The deal meant that Pernod Ricard acquired a number of

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol that acts Alcohol (drug), as a drug and is produced by Ethanol fermentation, fermentat ...

brands including Malibu rum.

Marketing

Past advertising campaigns labeled it "seriously easy going" and usually features people from the

taking life seriously, in a parody of the stress associated with the Western urban lifestyle, with a voice over at the end saying "If people in the Caribbean took life as seriously as this, they would never have invented Malibu. It's seriously easy going." This Caribbean focus of Malibu's advertising stands in some contrast to the fact that the town after which it is named is in California rather than the Caribbean region. Since 2014, the advertising campaign has shifted toward the idea of Malibu encouraging people to have their "best summer ever" with a YouTube campaign and TV ads showing the difference between "summer you vs rest of the year you". In 2016 Malibu started an internet campaign with a commerce website and via the hashtag #Malibu.

Variations

The original version of Malibu rum is flavored with

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

. There are many different versions of Malibu rum in the worldwide market, flavored with various tropical fruits such as

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

passion fruit ''Passiflora edulis,'' commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy ...

, island melon and

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

. Additionally, there is a blend with

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...

, known as Malibu Fresh, a version mixed with

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ('' Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican s ...

known as Malibu Red, and a double-strength version known as Malibu Black, which is a 35% alcohol by volume (ABV) rum-based liqueur that combines dark rum and the original coconut-flavored liqueur.

References

External links

* {{Pernod Ricard Barbadian brands Drink companies of Barbados Foods containing coconut Pernod Ricard brands Liqueurs

History

Marketing

Variations

See also

References

External links