Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum is the brainchild of Alexandre Gabriel, the man behind the Plantation Rum brand, and bartender David Wondrich, the cocktail historian who uncovered a lost Victorian recipe for pineapple rum. The result is something genuinely novel: a rum infused with both the fruit and the bark of the Queen Victoria pineapple, using a dual maceration process that extracts flavour from the sweet flesh and the aromatic skin separately.
The base rum is Plantation's Original Dark — itself a blend of Trinidadian and Jamaican rums aged in ex-bourbon barrels. The pineapple fruit is infused into the rum directly, while the pineapple rinds are infused into Plantation 3 Stars white rum. The two infusions are then blended and returned to barrels for further maturation. The process is more complex and time-consuming than simply adding pineapple flavouring, and the result tastes markedly different from any artificially flavoured spirit.
On the Nose
The nose is immediately and irresistibly tropical. Fresh pineapple leaps from the glass — not the artificial candy sweetness of most flavoured spirits, but a genuine, juicy pineapple character that smells like cutting open a ripe fruit. Behind the pineapple, the rum base provides caramel, vanilla, and a gentle molasses sweetness. There is a tropical fruit cocktail quality — mango, coconut, and banana — and a warm baking spice of cinnamon and allspice. The pineapple rind adds an additional aromatic quality — slightly bitter, almost herbaceous — that adds complexity.
The Palate
On the palate, Stiggins' Fancy is a delight. The pineapple flavour is vibrant and authentic — juicy, sweet, and bracingly tart, like biting into fresh fruit rather than drinking something artificially flavoured. The rum base provides depth: caramel, vanilla, and a Jamaican funkiness that complements the tropical fruit perfectly. The pineapple rind infusion adds a subtle bitterness and an aromatic complexity that elevates the whole experience. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied at 40% ABV, with a tropical warmth.
The Finish
The finish is medium, with the pineapple slowly fading while the rum's caramel and vanilla persist. There is a gentle spice warmth — allspice and cinnamon — and a final, lingering tropical quality. The pineapple rind bitterness provides a dry conclusion that prevents the finish from being merely sweet.
In cocktails, Stiggins' Fancy is transformative. In a Daiquiri, the pineapple and lime combination is electric. In a Mai Tai, it adds a dimension of tropical fruit that elevates the drink to something special. Even as a simple rum and soda with a squeeze of lime, it is a revelation. This is the rare flavoured spirit that enhances rather than diminishes the base rum, and it has rightly earned its place as one of the most respected flavoured rums in the world.
