Review: Captain Morgan Coconut Rum  83.5/100
review by Chip Dykstra (Aka the Rum Howler)
Published June 03, 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 continue the review series with a look at Captain Morgan Coconut 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 Coconut 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 slightly thickened and a plethora of small droplets formed at the spirit crest which ran slowly back into the rum. The sluggish legs and the thickened crest are an indication of a little added sweetness, which to be honest, is not unexpected in a coconut flavoured 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 and tastes of the rum after I had examined it visually. We were also examining Blue Chair Bay’s Coconut Rum (see review here) at the same time. Both glasses has a nice fresh sweetened coconut aroma. Interestingly, we all felt that the Coconut Rum from Captain Morgan offered the breezes very slight tinges of what we would call an ‘artificial’ quality, as if most of the aroma was natural coconut; but perhaps with some other quality added as well that affected the air above the glass just slightly. However, in spite of that observation, we also all felt that the Captain Morgan Coconut rum was more balanced and offered the breezes less sweetness which allowed the coconut aroma to shine just a little more. It was a six of one and a half-dozen of the other, and I scored each rum the same n this section of the review.

In the Mouth 50.5/60

The slightly thickened consistency of the coconut rum coats the palate allowing the flavour to linger as you sip. This flavour features a firm coconut melded into a rum-like cane sugar with bits of vanilla showing through. The rum seems to carry the right balance of sweetness alongside the coconut flavour such that sipping is pleasant and not cloying. As well the coconut flavour promises to work very well in mixed tropical drinks and cocktails.

To that end, I mixed a nice tall deck drink for myself combining the coconut rum with cranberry juice and a mixture of fresh lime and grapefruit juice (see recipe below). The tall drink was refreshing, and even though I had used a lot of different fruit flavours, the coconut rum pushed itself through the cocktail to good effect.

In the Throat 12.5/15

This flavoured rum is bottled at 35 % alcohol by volume (which is quite a bit higher than any other coconut rum I have tried) yet the exit is very smooth with a strong coconut flavours tempered by sugar cane sweetness. The flavours are more intense in the exit than what you would normally encounter in the category which is a reflection of that higher bottling strength.

The Afterburn 8/10

So far I have reviewed two of the new Captain Morgan flavours, the Grapefruit Rum, and now the Coconut Rum. Both flavoured rums were better than I expected featuring a very nice balance between the sweetness of the spirit and the chosen flavour of the spirit. I like the attention to detail that I have seen thus far (with respect to the balance between the sweetness of the rum and the flavour), and I heartily endorse both of the Captain Morgan Flavours I have reviewed to this point.

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

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Suggested Recipes

Breezy Coconut

2 oz Captain Morgan Coconut Rum
2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1 1/2 oz Cranberry Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
Ice
Lime Wheel Garnish

Add ice to a tall bar glass
Pour the four ingredients over ice
Stir
Garnish with a Lime Wheel
Serve and Enjoy

Note: this tall drink is perhaps a little tart for some. Do not be afraid to add a little sugar syrup or even a little grenadine for added sweetness.

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)