Plantation Pineapple Stiggins’ Fancy 1824 Recipe, a spirit that evokes the memory of Charles Dickens’ London, has finally been released in the UK. A limited supply will be made available through Marks & Spencer, with the rest of the UK allocation reserved for the select Plantation ‘Pineapple Society’ bars.
Following last week’s much-anticipated launch of Plantation’s Pineapple by brand ambassadors, Joe Wadsack and Paul McFadyen at No Such Place in Covent Garden, 20 UK bars and a further ten across Europe, such as Dirty Dicks in Paris, have been chosen to become the founding members of the Plantation ‘Pineapple Society’. They will join together in the summer at Maison Ferrand, the home of Plantation Rum, to celebrate this fine spirit and to help cut the pineapples that will go into the next batch of Plantation Pineapple Stiggins’ Fancy.
Each of these bars will have exclusive access to the rum and will be offering a pineapple daiquiri as a signature drink. Nick Rodgers, MD of the UK distributor, Identity Drinks Brands, says “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. 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.”
This fabulous concoction was initially intended as a one-off thank you to the apprentices of Tales of the Cocktail, an annual event in New Orleans for the world’s best bartenders. Immediate reaction from the bar community was so strong that Alexandre Gabriel, owner of Maison Ferrand and Plantation, was convinced to produce further batches for limited wider release, with the UK receiving 6,000 bottles this year.
Drinks personality, Joe Wadsack, comments: “This is a remarkable drink. They’ve used centuries old techniques to deliver a complex and delicate flavour. I love that it already has a cult status amongst the global bartending community – those guys really know their stuff, which reaffirms what a gem we have here.”
The twenty founder ‘Pineapple Society’ bars in the UK are:
Trailer Happiness, Aqua Shard, Opium, Mahiki, Little Bat, Portside Parlour, 68 & Boston, Hush, Coq D’Argent, Luggage Room Grosvenor Square, Street Feast, Mercury Bar, Tiki Bar & Kitsch Inn, Sovereign Loss, Rum Kitchen Brixton, HMMS Bristol, Cane & Grain, Liars Club, Copper Blossom and O’Malleys Pina Colada summer pop up.
DRINKS ENTHUSIAST 