Skip to main content

Don Q Piña Rum Review: Just Add Coconut Water

Don Q Pina Pineapple flavored rum
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Summer may be starting to wind down, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a good time for a piña colada. The fresh flavors of the pineapple combining with the sweet creamy coconut? And the rum! Oh, the rum. Who wouldn’t want that at all times? Sometimes, though, you might not have everything on hand to make the delicious cocktail, leaving you in the tropical lurch. The latest flavored expression from Don Q, Piña, seems to be making an effort to help that by cutting down on the number of ingredients needed to make a piña colada and other coconut cocktails.

Related:

Recommended Videos

Using a base of Don Q Puerto Rican rums that have been aged between one and one-and-a-half years and one hundred percent natural pineapple, a fruit native to the island, Don Q’s sixth generation rum maker Roberto Serrallés and his team have created their fifth flavor expression since the first, Limon, launched in the late 1990s.

Don Q Pina Pineapple flavored rum
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Appearance: Mostly clear but with the slightest hint of yellow coloring—like a really light white wine.

Nose: A mix of fresh and fermenting pineapple. There is a good amount of thick sweetness mixed with a little tropical zestiness. A little bit of white rum is evident, but its hard to find under the pineapple notes.

Palate: Somewhat viscous on the tongue. Ripe pineapple and cane sugar are the primary flavors. Tropical and fairly light considering the sugar content.

Finish: The typical rum flavors come through on the finish. Rounding these out are hints of red apple. A short, sweet finish overall.

Final Thoughts: This is a mixing rum. Ideally, as the title of this piece indicates, in a piña colada, where all you would need to do is add coconut water and bam, now you just need to wait to get caught in the rain. Other tropical cocktails that need a pineapple infusion (or you happen to not have pineapple juice on hand) would be good for this, too—Blue Hawaiis anyone? On its own, it might stand up as an after-dinner drink when consumed neat, but you’d be much better served pouring it over some ice cream or even soaking some fruit in it before grilling them.

Don Q Piña is 30% ABV and retails for around $14.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
What is steak frites? Your new favorite comfort food
How to master the French classic of steak and fries
Steak frites

I've lived in Italy before, which afforded me a quick 2-hour plane ride to Paris in the summers. I'm from the United States, and I don't speak French, so I wasn't exactly familiar with the menu the first time I went to a restaurant in the City of Love. I picked something that looked familiar ... steak frites. I got perfectly seared steak next to a golden mound of crispy fries; it felt familiar and comforting.

So, what is steak frites? It’s one of the simplest, most iconic dishes in French cuisine. A bistro classic, it's exactly what it sounds like: steak and fries. But don't let its simplicity fool you — when done right, it delivers big flavor with minimal fuss.

Read more
Purity Coffee unveils Brazilian cold brew for home brewing
A new clean coffee blend designed specific for cold brewing
Purity Coffee Cold Brew

Health-focused coffee company, Purity Coffee, has just released its latest innovation: Cold Brew. The new Cold Brew is a single-origin Brazilian coffee, specially crafted for cold brewing at home. Purity Coffee is known for its high-end, mold-free coffee—this blend, which uses beans rich in antioxidants and prebiotic compounds. The latest cold brew blend is designed explicitly with gut health in mind, setting a new standard in health-conscious coffee. Available in whole bean or ground coffee, the new Purity Coffee Cold Brew blend is a medium-roast coffee with tasting notes of cocoa nibs and peanut butter.

The Purity Coffee Cold Brew, now available online, can be easily used with any of your favorite at-home cold brew methods. Just steep for at least 6 to 7 hours to ensure maximum flavor extraction, as well as the extraction of caffeine and antioxidants. This coffee blend, along with all products by Purity Coffee, undergoes rigorous third-party testing for mycotoxins, impurities, and other contaminants, leading to the best-tasting cup of coffee. As health-conscious coffee consumption continues to rise, coffee drinkers are increasingly paying attention to potential toxins and mold that can be present in their coffee. As a regular cold brew drinker, I'm especially excited about this new release by Purity Coffee.

Read more
How to make a dairy-free Grasshopper cocktail like a pro
How to make a classic cocktail with a twist
The Mommy Grasshopper.

So many great cocktails, so little time. This week, we thought we'd get a fresh take on a classic cocktail recipe. Naturally, we reached out to those who know them best, aka pro bartenders.

The Mothership is a great bar in Milwaukee. The place resides in the Bay View neighborhood and mixes up some top-shelf drinks. And they were nice enough to offer a fresh take on The Grasshopper, the cocktail that's done everything from feature in timeless bar jokes to shows starring Kristen Wiig.

Read more