Style: Sherry cask finished Barbados Rum
Age: 20 years
Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
Region: Barbados
The Mount Gay Master Blender’s collection is all about showcasing the expertise that comes with distilling and aging rum for centuries. Each annual release explores the effect of different oak finishes; past rums have been aged in Madeira casks or Andean oak. This year, Mount Gay is celebrating 320 years of rum production.
To commemorate this milestone, Master Blender Trudiann Branker has crafted a very special rum – a blend of pot and column-distilled rums, aged 20 years in ex-bourbon casks and then finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The different components were all aged separately in barrels and also finished separately for 10.5 – 11 months before blending. No additives, no chill filtration, just pure rum.
Tasting notes
This amber-hued rum has a rich aroma of cherry and butterscotch with just a hint of raisin. The palate is reminiscent of bananas foster, with notes of baked fruit, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg all present along with a hint of dried apricot. The finish is velvety and smooth, but not too lingering with notes of vanilla and gentle baking spice – imagine a snickerdoodle cookie or a spiced carrot cake.
Final thoughts
Rums that are barrel aged in a hot, humid climate like Barbados tend to pick up a lot of character from the oak very quickly. At 20 years, the Mount Gay PX Sherry Cask might be expected to be overly oaked and possibly astringent, but it presents a balanced profile that still holds on to the character of the molasses-derived distillate. It combines pleasant flavors of baked and dried fruit with warm spice into an approachable and complex sipping rum.
