I am not particularly an alcoholic or anything but Malibu and Coke is my favourite tipple! When I just turned 18 and started hitting the club/pub/bar scene I of course experimented with many mixtures of drinks I saw people drinking on TV like Vodka & Lemonade, or Gin & Tonic (absolutely bleurgh!) but after hearing my mum order Malibu and Coke and tasting it I was in love!

Malibu is a caribbean rum originally used to simplify the making of Piña Coladas by bartenders! It has now expanded and is popular as a mixer in the commercial market. It comes in a white bottle, with a wide base, which goes up to a slim neck and a black screw top bottle so it can be opened and used time and time again. I don't particularly drink alcohol at home unless having a party so this is ideal for me! The design on the bottle is a simply picture of some palm trees making the bottle look very much caribbean indeed!

The original flavour Malibu is rum with coconut extract and drinking it, it definitely has a tropical, sweet taste which tastes exotic when mixed. I have tried Malibu on it's own (out of curiousity) and whilst I must say it does have that coconut kick it does taste quite strong! This could be because the alcohol content is 21% so for me this is definitely a lot lol. I am quite a big baby and cannot drink alcohol that actually tastes of alcohol so a mixer for me is a necessary requirement and when Malibu is combined with something else (of course depending on the dilution) it doesn't taste strong at all and I find myself a little bit tipsy after a few cups!

My happiness at drinking Malibu with coke is hard to describe as on it's own I don't actually like coke (or diet coke, pepsi, pepsi max of any of those kind of drinks) but mixed with Malibu it is heaven. The 2 flavours compliment each other extremely and with some crushed ice, it tastes like coconut flavoured coke I suppose is the best way to put it! Another good way to drink Malibu is with pineapple juice which really packs the punch in caribbean flavour as coconut and pineapple combine to almost give an alcoholic exotic fruit cocktail drinking experience. I have always been meaning to try and do some homemade cocktails as I know Malibu is a great ingredient for this, with some fruit liquers etc and I have had a few random cocktails when out and about which contain Malibu but I do sometimes find too many flavours and the coconut essence get's lost so I do prefer it just with a mixer, but it is versatile enough to do both.

As with most alcohols they are quite expensive and I recently bought a 1 litre bottle for a friend's christening party in Sainsburys for almost £20. Most supermarkets will generally do their own brand version which will be cheaper but (from student days experience!) I always find that these taste more watered down and less of coconut and definitely less alcohol content to boot. So I always stick with the branded Malibu!

I find Malibu a really nice drink on a night out and is always my first choice. It will appeal to those who like alcohol that isn't too strong and also tastes sweet and exotic when with the right mixer. If you don't like coconut this probably isn't for you but there are now other variations of the brand aside from the original coconut such as Mango, Passionfruit, Pineapple, Island Melon and Tropical Banana which I am dying to try!