Rum has been produced on the island of Barbados since the mid-1600s, when Europeans introduced sugarcane to the Caribbean islands, making the most of the tropical region’s ideal growing conditions to satisfy an exploding global demand for sugar. Since sugarcane is the base ingredient of all rums, the beverage was produced next to the mills of sugar cane plantations. In Barbados, the sweet-tasting liquid soon overtook tobacco as the premier export, the production of it soaring to unexpected levels. Malibu has its beginnings on this picturesque island, where, on its sandy white beach, in 1893, two German brothers named Stades set up the world-renowned West Indies Rum Distillery and started producing a distinctive light rum. Almost a hundred years later, Malibu brought the tradition of Caribbean flavoured rum to international shores. The Malibu taste, a combination of light rum and coconut, captured in an iconic white bottle, hit the UK in 1980, followed by other European countries and then the USA in 1983. Malibu now takes the mixing process to a new level, adding new flavours, including mango, passion fruit, pineapple, tropical banana, and island melon to its product range.
