Captain Morgan Pineapple

Captain Morgan Pineapple is a pineapple-flavored rum, so it belongs with the flavored and spiced rums, not the traditional white, gold, dark, or aged styles. Flavored rums like this usually start from a light-bodied base spirit and add fruit flavoring. Expect a lightly sweet, candied-pineapple nose, a juicy tropical-fruit palate, and a soft, short finish. Exact proof and sweetness aren't listed here, so check the label for ABV. The base rum typically stays in the background, and the pineapple leads from the first sniff to the last note. This is a mixer rather than a sipper. Neat, it will taste sweet and one-dimensional compared with a barrel-aged rum. It does well over ice with soda water and a lime wedge, or with ginger beer, which adds spice and carbonation that cut the sweetness. Chilling it in the freezer or pouring it over plenty of ice keeps the fruit from tasting cloying. For cocktails, the Piña Colada is the natural fit. Blend it with coconut cream and crushed ice, and cut back on added pineapple juice, since the rum already supplies much of the fruit. A Daiquiri works well too: shake it with fresh lime juice and a small amount of simple syrup, using less syrup than a standard white-rum recipe calls for. Muddling mint and lime for a Mojito and topping with soda gives a pineapple-leaning version of that drink. The Dark 'n' Stormy and Rum Old Fashioned are poor matches. Both depend on the molasses depth of a dark or aged rum, which a bright, fruit-flavored spirit can't supply. On glassware, serve highballs and Mojitos in a tall glass over ice. Daiquiris go in a chilled coupe or small cocktail glass. Piña Coladas suit a hurricane glass or a large goblet, garnished with a pineapple wedge. Coconut, lime, ginger, and grilled pineapple pair well with it. For food, it is a reasonable partner for jerk chicken, grilled shrimp, or sweet-and-spicy dishes, where the fruit offsets the heat.