Malibu Black Rum

Black Rum from Malibu is a dark-style rum. Black rums usually get their colour and weight from heavy molasses character or added caramel, so expect darker sugar, toffee and treacle notes rather than the light, grassy profile of a white rum. The distributor description points the same way: deep molasses flavour and a smooth finish. Malibu is better known for coconut-flavoured rums, so check the label for whether this bottle carries a flavour and how sweet it is. That affects how you use it. Whether it works as a sipper depends on that sweetness. A rum in this style tends to be easier to drink than a sharp, high-proof dark rum, so a small pour over a large ice cube in a rocks glass is a fair way to try it. Its strengths are more likely to show in mixed drinks, where molasses and caramel notes stand up to citrus, ginger and cola. The label doesn't list a proof, so taste it before you commit to a recipe. The Dark 'n' Stormy is the obvious fit. Pour two ounces over ice in a highball glass, top with a spicy ginger beer, and finish with a squeeze of lime. The ginger cuts through any sweetness in the rum. A Rum Old Fashioned also works: stir two ounces with a bar spoon of demerara syrup and two dashes of Angostura bitters, then serve over a large cube in a rocks glass with an orange peel. If the bottle is on the sweeter side, cut back on the syrup. A Daiquiri made with dark rum is richer and rounder than the white-rum version, and it goes well with a little extra lime. Use a chilled coupe, and expect a sweeter Piña Colada, especially if this one has a coconut note. For a simple long drink, rum and cola over ice in a highball glass with a lime wedge is hard to beat. Dark rums like this also suit grilled pineapple, jerk-style chicken, caramelised desserts and dark chocolate. Serve it at room temperature for sipping and over plenty of ice for mixing.