Malibu , the pioneer of the large and lucrative modern spirits category of flavored rum, is a sweet, low-proof blend of Barbados rum, coconut flavoring, and (at least originally) neutral spirits, generally consumed on ice or mixed with pineapple juice to make a sort of instant Piña Colada. See Piña Colada. Developed by the South African affiliate of the International Distillers & Vintners company in the late 1970s, it was originally based—in part, anyway—on Jamaican rum (the Barbados rum came in 1985). See Diageo. Launched in the United Kingdom in 1980 and America in 1983, with the slogan “Anything rum can do, Malibu can do better,” Malibu was aimed at the type of young, casual drinker attracted to the leisurely Southern California lifestyle then epitomized by Malibu Beach, after which it was named. First bottled at 28 percent ABV (“Low proof is where the market is going these days,” its American distributor remarked), it was lowered to 24 percent in 1987 and its current proof, 21 percent, in 2001. That same year, Diageo was forced to sell the brand, and it was acquired by Pernod-Ricard in 2005. See Pernod-Ricard. Pernod only intensified the brand’s emphasis on advertising and promotion to drive sales, sponsoring extensive annual summer ad campaigns, which by 2009 included a twenty-four-hour “Maliboom Boom” online radio station. In 2014 Malibu became the no. 3 biggest-selling rum-based product in the world, with an 8 percent share of the total rum market. Pernod-Ricard now sells nineteen different Malibu products in bottles, cans, and plastic squeeze bags, ranging from the chocolate ice cream–flavored Malibu Sundae to a Malibu Peach Sparkler and Malibu Caribbean Cosmo.
Dougherty, Philip H. “‘Rum,’ Sort of, by Paddington.” New York Times, May 18, 1983.
Espey, James, “The Truth Behind the Truth of Malibu Rum.” International Opulence. http://www.internationalopulence.com/malibu-rum/ (accessed July 20, 2018).
Schultz, E. J. “In Rum Battle, Malibu Speeds Things Up as Cruzan Goes Slow.” Advertising Age, May 16, 2014.
By: Jeff Berry