What the what is David Wondrich up to? The celebrated drinks historian, punch enthusiast, and beard-grower has teamed up again with Alexandre Gabriel of Maison Ferrand (owner of Plantation Rum, and previous partner with Wondrich on Pierre Ferrand 1840 Original Formula Cognac and Dry Curacao) to… well, to do something involving pineapple and rum. Before you read the rest of this, let’s take a quick multiple choice quiz. A pre-quiz, if you will.

Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Rum is:

a) A blend of Trinidad brown rums matured in young bourbon casks, infused with Queen Victoria pineapples for three months, and further mixed with a distillate of macerated pineapple rinds and white rum (“a bright pineapple essence to blend with the lushness of the infused rum”) before a final rest in the barrel

b) A drink inspired by the favorite tipple of one Reverend Stiggins, who was a character in Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers

c) A “liquid thank you” to the members of the apprentice program at Tales of the Cocktail (an annual bar and spirits industry event held in New Orleans)

d) A throwback to original pineapple rum recipes found in the 1824 English Journal of Patent and Inventions, and the 1844 Journal of Agricultural Society

e) All of the above

If you guessed a), you are absolutely right, but I could say the same thing for every other choice. Yes, the true and astonishing answer is that Plantation 1824 Pineapple Rum is all of those crazy things. Thank you Messrs. Wondrich and Gabriel.

This stuff is crazy, and wonderful, and absurd, and absolutely worth seeking out. It was initially planned as a 1000 bottle limited run, focused on the insider crowds attending Tales of the Cocktail last year, but the reception has apparently stoked the flames to extend the run of Pineapple Rum. I was lucky enough to pick up a bottle at H&F Bottle Shop (though I paid $38, a good bit above what other national retailers like K&L carry it for) before it quickly left their premises.

The first thing you’ll notice if you get your hands on a bottle is that Wondrich, ever the writer/historian, has packed the label with all kinds of stories and background (in fact, the label was the source for the above quiz). A quick read will inform you that Dickens’ Reverend Stiggins, “preferred to take his ‘warm’ (i.e., with a splash of boiling water), with three lumps of sugar to the tumbler.” This is where Reverend Stiggins and I part ways, as this Plantation Rum requires no water, nor sugar. Here are the notes…

Read full tasting notes and review at ThirstySouth.com