Review: Captain Morgan Pineapple Rum   82.5/100
review by Chip Dykstra (Aka the Rum Howler)
Published June 25, 2015

On February 11, 2015, Captain Morgan introduced three flavors to its fleet of rums, CAPTAIN MORGAN® Pineapple Rum, CAPTAIN MORGAN® Coconut Rum, and CAPTAIN MORGAN® Grapefruit Rum. These new Caribbean flavors are each five times distilled and of course made from cane molasses. Each of the expression blends natural flavors with CAPTAIN MORGAN® White Rum, resulting in a spirit which can be enjoyed as a summer cocktail mixer.

According to my Dan Kleinman, Vice President of Marketing, Rums for Diageo North America:

“This summer, we’re looking for consumers to flip over their hammocks and have a little fun with their mojitos and daiquiris by enjoying our new pineapple, coconut and grapefruit extensions. After last year’s successful launch of CAPTAIN MORGAN® White Rum, we wanted to expand our offerings in the category. These flavors allow adult fans to diversify their cocktails, providing them with a taste of the Caribbean no matter where they may be responsibly enjoying our products.”

The marketing team for Diageo sent me samples of all three of the new flavoured rums for review on my website, and I have decided to end this short review series with a look at Captain Morgan Pineapple Rum.

In the Bottle 4/5

I have said before that it is hard to argue with the impact the iconic Captain Morgan Logo has had upon the world of rum. The swashbuckling privateer with his leg set upon a rum barrel is one of the most recognized symbols in the industry. Even though the bottle for the Pineapple Rum is of the standard bar room variety, the logo on the label brings attention to the brand and makes it immediately recognizable on the store shelf. The Captain Morgan Logo has come to symbolize the entire category of spiced rum, now it is trying to do the same for the flavoured rum category.

In the Glass 8.5/10

In the glass, the spirit is clear with very little if any hint of colour. When I tilted the glass and gave it a slow twirl, the consistency of the spirit in the glass gave was thickened and the crest of rum which had formed at the top of the thickened sheen seemed to hold back for quite a while before a plethora of small droplets formed at the spirit crest and ran sluggishly back into the rum.

I had a few of my Rum Chums with me when I first opened the sample bottle, and so I let everyone have a sniff of the glass after I had examined it visually. Everyone thought the pineapple aroma was quite luscious. Although there is an obvious and firm sugar cane-like sweetness which accompanies the pineapple scent, the intensity of the pineapple is very inviting and seems very natural.

In the Mouth 50/60

The spirit is bottled at 35 % alcohol by volume which is a little higher than I usually encounter in the flavoured rum category. This higher alcohol content serves the purpose of intensifying the flavour and the result is flavour which (to me anyways) taste very much like it has the intensity (and the flavour) of the natural pineapple fruit. My rum Chums who tasted the spirit with me all agreed and a common sentiment was that they felt the flavoured rum tasted very crisp and delicious.

I did a bit of experimenting with cocktails and arrived at a nice bar drink using the Cosmopolitan as my inspiration and arrived at a nice fruity cocktail which uses both the Captain Morgan Pineapple Rum and their Coconut Rum (see below).

In the Throat 12/15

The Pineapple flavoured rum is quite smooth on the finish, although some of that smoothness must be attributed the additional sweetness the flavoured rum possesses. having said that some of the smoothness must also be attributed to the five time distillation process which is used to produce the rum. The pineapple flavour and the rum’s sweetness are both on display in a rum which can be sipped over ice, but probably should instead be mixed in a cocktail.

The Afterburn 8/10

Like the other Captain Morgan flavours reviewed to this point, the Coconut Rum and the Grapefruit Rum, the Captain Morgan Pineapple Rum does not disappoint. it features a fresh intense flavour which is both inviting and seems to represent well the natural flavour of a freshly slice pineapple. The spirit is an excellent mixer for tropical drinks, but perhaps is not meant to be sipped on its own.

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

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Suggested Recipes

Jump the Shark

1 oz Captain Morgan Pineapple Rum
1 oz Captain Morgan Coconut Rum

1 oz Triple Sec
1 oz lime juice
1 oz Cranberry juice
orange peel

Shake all the ingredients over ice
Strain into a cocktail glass
Garnish with Orange Peel

Serve and Enjoy Responsibly!

Note: If  you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret that score as follows:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing spirit.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)