Plantation Rum brings Stiggins’ Fancy to UK

Cognac Ferrand has extended availability of its Plantation Pineapple Rum – Stiggins’ Fancy to the UK on a limited basis.

First unveiled at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans last year, Plantation Pineapple Rum – Stiggins’ Fancy was initially planned as a “one-off” launch, with just 1,000 bottles sold in New Orleans and a small number of other US markets.

In August last year Cognac Ferrand founder Alexandre Gabriel added the expression to Plantation Rum’s core range in the US as a limited edition due to the seasonality of the Queen Victoria pineapples it uses.

Now, Marks & Spencer in the UK will stock a limited supply of the rum, with the rest of the country’s allocation reserved for 20 select Plantation ‘Pineapple Society’ bars, including Trailer Happiness, Aqua Shard and 68 & Boston.

A further 10 bars across Europe, such as Dirty Dick’s in Paris, are also part of Plantation’s ‘Pineapple Society’ and will serve Stiggins’ Fancy as part of a signature Pineapple Daiquiri.

This summer, ‘Pineapple Society’ members will be invited to travel to Maison Ferrand, the home of Plantation Rum, to help cut the pineapples that will go into the next batch of Plantation Pineapple Stiggins’ Fancy.

“This remarkable product deserves to be in every bar, but it is so time consuming to make there just isn’t enough to go round,” said Nick Rodgers, MD of the brand’s UK distributor Identity Drinks Brands

“I implore every rum fan – hunt down a bottle from your local M&S, drink it with your best friends, then get to a Pineapple Society bar to enjoy one of the finest Daiquiris you will ever have.”

Alexandre Gabriel first created Stiggins’ Fancy in collaboration with cocktail historian David Wondrich, inspired by several traditional recipes used in the 1800s.

It is produced by first infusing the rinds of Queen Victoria pineapple with Plantation 3 Stars white rum for one week before they are distilled in pot stills.

Separately, the flesh of the Queen Victoria pineapples are infused with rich, aged Plantation Original Dark Rum for three months. These two liquids are then married together and the rum is put into casks where it rests for three months.

The expression is named after the Reverend Stiggins, a character in Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers whose favoured tipple was pineapple rum.