‘As Barbadian as Rum Could Be’ Mount Gay Introduces Terroir-Driven Rum as Part of Single Estate Series

(Photo: Mount Gay Rum)

Yesterday, Barbados-based rum Makers, Mount Gay unveiled the first edition of its new Single Estate Series. The new series will see a new rum made from Mount Gay’s own sugarcane grown on its estate released annually. The series celebrates Barbados and embodies the terroir of the island.

Mount Gay is considered the world’s oldest-running rum distillery. Located in St Lucy at the northern tip of Barbados, this rum distillery has called this island home since 1703 and is celebrating its 320th anniversary this year. 

The first release of the Single Estate Series is the culmination of eight years of dedicated work. In 2015, Mount Gay acquired 324 acres of the old Mount Gay Estate, this was the start of the distillery growing its own sugarcane. 

The next steps were to mill and refine the estate’s own molasses instead of relying on the only other mill available on the island. The ability to create its own molasses, which is made for rum first and is not just a “byproduct” of sugar production. 

Barbadian rum is traditionally made from molasses and the distillery has kept true to this style. Single Estate Series 23_01 is a blend of 2016 and 2017 harvests that were then made into high-quality molasses. It is 100% copper pot still and aged in ex-bourbon casks before being bottled at 55% ABV.  

Mount Gay’s Master Blender Trudiann Branker aimed to make a rum with true Barbadian terroir. 

“The Single Estate Series is as Barbadian as rum could be. Growing Barbadian sugar cane to make Barbadian molasses and bringing every element of the rum production together at our home in St Lucy, the birthplace of rum, was a unique journey,” commented Branker. “This release is a first for us, the first estate rum we’ll launch at Mount Gay. Like any first, it has been a huge adventure for the whole team. We learned to farm sugar cane, we learned to mill sugar cane. We created Barbadian molasses that, for the first time, was not a byproduct of making sugar, it was the product focus. The Single Estate Series rum speaks to this quality of molasses and of Barbados rum making.”

Single Estate Series 23_01 is limited to just 1,200 bottles. The rum is available across the US, launching in November 2023 in 700 ml sizes for an SRP of $400 US.  

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