Cruzan Mango Rum Fortifies Mixed Drinks with Fruity Goodness

Cruzan is a company that has been producing distilled spirits for a long time. Founded in 1760, this rum- making giant has its main headquarters on the tropical island of St. Croix in the Caribbean Sea.

Cruzan started out making only ordinary rum but over the years, the product line has been expanded and now includes a large number of flavored rums. One of the fruit- flavored rums in the product lineup is Cruzan Mango Rum, a liquor made for those who love the taste of mangoes in their mixed drinks.

Basic Characteristics of This Liquor:

Examining this rum in a glass, one can see that it has a consistency like water with just a slightly thicker body. Swirled around in a cup, some of the liquid hangs on the sides of the glass due to its increased viscosity.

The aroma of this liquor is just what you would expect: fruity and alcoholic. Besides the mangos, I could also detect scents of brown sugar and what seemed like pineapple. The taste of this liquor is like a combination of mangos, apricots, and sugar. It begins with a sweet taste, detectable on the front of the tongue, but this quickly switches to the bitter tang of alcohol all over the tongue when you finish. A short time after finishing, the alcohol flavor wears off and you are left with the aftertaste of mangos.

This flavored rum is a little bit weaker than ordinary rum, with a proof rating of 55 (27.5 percent alcohol by volume). A one- ounce (30 ml) serving contains 56 calories and 2.7 grams of carbohydrates.

Drinks Made with This Liquor:

Cruzan Mango Rum can help spice up ordinary mixed drinks with its added fruit flavor. Here are some drinks you can make with this liquor:

Mango Mai Tai:

1 oz. Cruzan Mango Rum
1 oz. Dark Rum
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
Splash of Amaretto

Combine the mango rum, dark rum, and pineapple juice and shake with ice. Pour into a tall glass and add a splash of amaretto.

Cruisin’ Confusion:

1 oz. Cruzan Mango Rum
1 oz. Coconut rum
4 oz. Pineapple juice

Pour ingredients in a highball glass over ice and stir.

Tropical Delight:

3 oz. Cruzan Mango Rum
3 oz. Orange juice
Mango for garnish

Combine rum and orange juice in a Collins glass filled with ice and stir. Add a piece of mango for garnish.

Rum Rusher:

.5 oz. Cruzan Mango Rum
.5 oz. Coconut rum
.5 oz. pineapple rum
2 oz. orange juice
Grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice and blend until slushy. Serve in a pina colada glass.

Mango Mojito

1.5 oz. Cruzan Mango Rum
3 oz. club soda
4 mint leaves
Lime wedge

Place mint leaves in bottom of old fashioned glass. Add ice to glass and pour rum and club soda over the ice. Add a lime wedge for garnish.

Final Thoughts:

Cruzan has been making rum for more than 240 years down in the U.S Virgin Islands. Once known strictly for its light and dark rums, Cruzan has now expanded its product line to include all sorts of flavored rums as well.

With Cruzan Mango Rum, you get fruity rum that isn’t as strong as ordinary rum and is thus less likely to knock you out cold in a short time. I find it funny that the company web site describes the alcohol level as only “slightly less” than regular 80 proof rum. I don’t know what their definition of “slightly” is, but I consider 80 proof vs. 55 proof to be a significant difference. With 12.5 percent less alcohol, this rum has substantially less kick than ordinary rum distilled at 80 proof. And you can quickly notice this in the taste. Cruzan Mango Rum doesn’t cause the facial contortions and gag reflex that sometimes result from drinking shots of 80 proof spirits. This rum is much smoother to drink and it is mostly sweet except for initial bitterness when you swallow. It switches back to sweet in the aftertaste.

This rum, since it is fruit favored, is best to serve in fruity drinks calling for rum. It tastes great mixed with orange juice, pineapple juice, and most citrus juices. Berry juices, however, are a different story. Some might like this rum mixed with, say, cranberry juice but others will find it a tough taste combination to accept. It’s all a matter of preference, but I find that it doesn’t blend well at all with these other juices.

Another thing to remember about this type of rum is that it isn’t necessarily the type of rum that can be substituted in any drink recipe that calls for regular light or dark rum. Again, the fruit flavor of mangos just doesn’t mix well with certain drinks. Take, for instance, rum and cola, one of the world’s most popular mixed drinks. Some flavored rums mix well with cola, but this isn’t one of them. The taste of mangoes just doesn’t mix with cola. One common beverage that this rum does mix well with is Seven- Up or Sprite. The taste of the mangos mixes nicely with the lemon and lime, making a delicious, refreshing fruit beverage.

I like the pleasant aftertaste associated with this liquor. It is sweet and good. Once the alcohol flavor wears off, you can taste the sweet fruit and it reminds me of the taste sensation you get when sipping on mango or peach nectar. The overall taste of this rum is fruity and nice. However, don’t expect it to taste like schnapps and other peach flavored liqueurs. The flavor present is actually a more mellow fruit taste. Don’t get me wrong- it’s obvious that this rum is flavored with mango and no one with normal taste buds could possibly think otherwise. But the fruit flavor is actually not that extreme.

Cruzan Mango Rum is a very good flavored rum from our Virgin Island friends. Cruzan makes many flavored rum products and this one is high in quality and taste. It doesn’t mix with as many different beverages and juices as regular light and dark rums, but what it does mix with results in a tasty tropical beverage.