The official website for Margaritaville Rum is now up and running at www.margaritavillerum.com.

On the site you can find special recipes for drinks and also locations where it’s available.

Inspired by the lifestyle of Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville embodies a relaxed state-of-mind lifestyle synonymous with island escapism. Now with the introduction of Rum, Margaritaville takes consumers to the Island of Jamaica, where for centuries some of the world’s most exquisite rums has been handcrafted.

Every bottle of Margaritaville Premium Jamaican Rum contains a unique blend of aged rums hand selected by Jamaica’s most famed Master Blender, Joy Spence. Each rum is carefully selected and hand blended to create a sophisticated flavor and aroma. After blending, the rums are married. This fusion of the various components is the final touch to the unique blend.

Silver

80 proof. Clear. Light vanilla, cane stalk, warm custard, and nougat aromas. A soft, silky entry leads to a dry light-to-medium body of attractive cane, vanilla bean, and pepper flavors. Finishes with a zesty, peppery powdered sugar flavor.

Spiced

70 proof. Pale golden amber color. Creamy vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, and white chocolate aromas. A rich supple off-dry medium body with notes of white pepper and toasted nut. Finishes with a long, warm cinnamon and spicy vanilla fade.

Dark

80 proof. Deep golden amber color. Vibrant aromas of brown sugar, buttery caramel, roasted nuts, and creame brulee. A buoyant entry leads to a dry-yet-fruity medium body accented with vanilla beans, nut, and peppery brown spice flavors. Finishes with a nice dark caramel toffee and peppery spice fade.

Coconut

42 proof. Clear. Rich fresh-cut coconut and soft vanilla bean aromas follow through to a mildly sweet medium body of toasted coconut flavor. Finishes with nice length and creaminess.

Suggested retail is $16.99 per bottle.

(H/T Jon B.)

Have you tried Margaritaville Rum yet?

The Jackson, Mississippi Clarion-Ledger has an article on Greg “Fingers” Taylor, the legendary harmonica player that toured with Buffett for many years and lent his sounds to some of Jimmy’s most famous songs:

Taylor had taken piano lessons in Kansas, but the blues turned him on to the harmonica. He played both in different bands while at USM, but it soon became clear he had a special relationship with the harmonica. He always kept one stashed in a blue jean pocket.

It came in handy one night in 1973 when Buffett, then a struggling musician who had also attended USM for a while, came to Hattiesburg to play The Hub, a popular bar.

“I’d never seen him before,” Taylor recalls. “I remember he was wearing a 10-gallon hat and had long, long blonde hair. It was just him and his acoustic guitar.”

Buffett had heard about the local dude who could make a harmonica talk. Midway through the show, he invited Taylor to join him for a few tunes.

“We had a good time and I could tell that Jimmy, at some point, was going to do something different and important,” Taylor says. “But at that time, I was a little better off than he was. He had no car. No money. And he needed to get to Mobile to see some girl. He asked me to drive him down there, and I did.”

A year later, when Buffett signed a record deal with ABC/Dunhill and started putting a band together, Taylor was the first musician he called. Buffett added Roger Bartlett on guitar, Harry Dailey on bass, Phillip Fajardo on drums … and away they went.

By 1975, they were opening shows for Linda Ronstadt, Roger McGuinn and Jerry Jeff Walker.

In 1977, Buffett wrote the Caribbean-flavored song Margaritaville, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart.

The tune’s carefree island theme became Buffett’s calling card, and a string of hits followed: Cheeseburger In Paradise; A Pirate Looks at Forty; Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes; and Son of a Son of a Sailor, among others.

After opening for the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Jackson Browne over the next three years, Buffet and the Coral Reefers became headliners in 1981. Except to stop long enough to record an album, they stayed on the road for most of the next eight years.

Read the full article here.

It’s been a couple months since our last Jimmy Buffett Caption Contest, so with the news being slow right now, let’s do another one. Take a look at the picture below and come up with your own caption for it:

Post your caption in the comments section of this post.

In a few days we’ll take a few of our favorite captions and put them in a poll for everyone to vote on their favorite.

Jimmy Buffett traveled to Haiti last week, and on Wednesday performed for troops stationed at the U.S. Embassy as part of Joint Task Force Haiti:

(March 3, 2010) Musician Jimmy Buffet performs his song, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” for members of Joint Task Force Haiti at the U.S. Embassy as Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Hornsby-Myers and Cmdr. Dana Hall, both from the U.S. Public Health Service sing along. (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Spike Call/Released)

CMT.com has posted the full video of Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffett singing “Margaritaville” from their upcoming episode of CMT Crossroads that will air Friday, March 19th at 10 pm ET/PT:

Other songs played at the taping were:

• Where the Boat Leaves From
• One Love
• Free
• Into the Mystic
• Toes
• Chicken Fried
• Wings
• Nobody From Nowhere
• Son of a Son of a Sailor
• A Pirate Looks at Forty

(hat tip Amanda)