Mount Gay unveils new single estate rums
Rémy Cointreau-owned Mount Gay has released the latest rums in its Single Estate Series, which highlight sugarcane harvests from the distillery’s Barbados estate.
Single Estate Series: 25_03_Vt24CF highlights a harvest from 2024, while 25_04_Vt19dp is crafted from a harvest from 2019.
The series consists of single-batch rums exclusively made with molasses from sugarcane grown on the brand’s estate in St Lucy, Barbados.
The brand acquired the Mount Gay and Oxford Estates in 2015. Covering 324 acres, the site allowed the brand to become vertically integrated for the first time in centuries.
The series launched in 2023. In last year’s edition, the distillery offered a vintage.
Master blender Trudiann Branker said: “25_03 is the first unaged rum of the series, while 25_04 is matured for five years in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels. Moreover, 25_03 is a 100% Coffey still distilled rum, while 25_04 is a 100% double pot distilled rum.
“This year presents the fascinating opportunity to experience two different perspectives of Mount Gay’s heritage and terroir side by side. Their characteristics are reflected in their elegant labels. On the vibrant green label of 25_03_Vt24CF, 25 represents the release year, and 03 the release number in the series. Vt24 refers to the single-year sugarcane harvest from 2024 used in this expression, and CF stands for the fact that it was distilled in 100% copper Coffey still.
“On the lively orange label of 25_04_Vt19dp, 25 illustrates the release year, and 04 the release number in the series. Vt19 showcases the single-year sugarcane harvest from 2019 used in this expression, and dp indicates that I blended together distillates from two distinct pot still distillations.”
An open book
25_03 was distilled in one of only three remaining functioning Coffey stills in the world. The rum is transparent and bottled at 48% ABV. The green label is inspired by the hues of the single-year sugarcane varietal from 2024’s harvest.
Speaking at a launch event for the new expressions, Baker explained that 25_03 is the first in the series where she was able to convert the sugarcane to molasses in-house before proceeding with fermentation.
When Mount Gay started its Single Estate series, the distillery partnered with a local sugarcane factory on the island to make a specialised molasses for the team. “A few years in, we realised if we were going to treat the molasses with the specialisation it needed, we needed to be able to really manage that process ourselves,” she said.
“This would be our first release where we’ve monitored what goes into the sugarcane. It really cemented the craftsmanship that exists at Mount Gay in-house, and the fingerprint of every single person in the distillery is in every bottle of Single Estate.”
On the nose, the rum is said to be earthy with grapefruit, butterscotch and white rose. The palate is described as featuring brown sugarcane with sweet fruity notes of plum, grapefruit, green apple and pear.
Branker said the unexpected notes for a clear spirit are due to the molasses she started with. “We do an open fermentation for Single Estate,” she explained. “The Coffey still is very specific and intentional in how it’s run. It’s fully manual and the team is there day and night – nosing, tasting and making sure that you know each spirit that comes off is exceptional.”
Meanwhile, 25_04 was fully distilled in a copper pot and matured in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels. The rum has a light golden colour and is bottled at 55% ABV. Its orange label reflects Barbados’ golden hour and warm sunsets.
Its nose offers green apple and red fruit, with a whisper of vanilla and gingerbread spice. On the palate, cherry and red fruit are revealed, followed by a salty smokiness, sharp oak and delicate flower tones.
The fermentation process for both rums lasted on average nine days.
25_03’s bottle is made of between 20% and 30% recycled glass, while 25_04’s bottle is made of 70% recycled glass.
There are 1,920 bottles of 25_03 available for RRP £80 (US$107), and 2,754 bottles of 25_04 for RRP £290 (US$387).
Both bottles feature a QR code on the label, which leads to a website detailing the production process.
“Everything is on there, every memory I have, everything I’ve ever said, and the memories of everyone who’s worked on every specific harvest,” Branker said.
“You’ll have quotes from our agricultural coordinator and from our estate manager. We want to bring people along on the Single Estate journey as the rum gets more mature. The records are all there, down to which cultivars went into each harvest. The only thing we might be missing is the rainfall meter.”
Branker says she wants rum to be an “open book”, which is a reason for the transparency within the Single Estate releases. “This journey is not just for us, but for rum houses in general,” she added.
Future releases and micro provenance
Branker noted that, every year, the harvest will be different so, naturally, there will be variation in the Single Estate releases.
She explained: “Sugarcane is not necessarily planted every year. It grows, you cut, it grows again. You have variation based on which growth cycle your specific cultivars are in. You have variations based on how many different cultivars or types of sugarcane are planted that year. That’s what Single Estate is meant to be: a combination of each harvest and what that harvest gave to us.
“Things are going to change. There are going to be years where you have lots of rain and there will be drought years when some cultivars do better than others.”
When asked if there are certain types of cultivars she prefers, she acknowledged that her agricultural team believe so. “Understanding what that means in terms of taste maturity and the chemical parameters – it’s less glamorous, but the variation starts right there,” she said.
These variations give Mount Gay the same quality of molasses, but “with different nuances”, she explained. “That’s when you start to realise the bouquet that’s happening during the fermentation process. We walk in today [and] taste one thing, and then tomorrow we’ll walk in and taste pineapple.
“It doesn’t make sense in our minds, but that’s the significant difference between the Single Estate fermentation versus our traditional Mount Gay fermentation. You really see the nuances of fermentation.”
The first Single Estate release was taken from the 2016 and 2017 harvest, while the second came from the 2018 harvest and the third from the 2019 harvest.
As for the estate’s very first harvest, in 2015, “we have it, it’s not lost,” Branker said coyly.
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