Mount Gay rum

Ingredients

What goes into the distillery (industrial)

• Barbadian sugarcane molasses, diluted with coral-filtered spring water to about 20 Brix
• distillery yeast, pitched for a 2–3 day fermentation
• double-retort copper pot stills and a twin-column continuous still
• ex-bourbon American white oak barrels for tropical ageing

Bajan rum punch, the standard serve

• 60 mlMount Gay Eclipse (three of strong)
• 20 mlfresh lime juice (one of sour)
• 40 mlcane syrup or simple syrup (two of sweet)
• 80 mlwater (four of weak)
• 4dashes Angostura bitters
• ice cubes, to fill
• freshly grated nutmeg, to finish
• 1lime wheel

Neat serve

• 45 mlMount Gay Black Barrel or XO
• 1large ice cube (optional)

Directions

1. Understand the base: Mount Gay works from molasses, not fresh cane juice, and its deed of trust dates from 1703, which makes the Mount Gay estate in St Lucy the oldest continuously running rum operation in the world.
2. The molasses is diluted with water filtered naturally through the island’s coral limestone and fermented for two to three days to a wash of around 7 percent.
3. Two spirits are then made: a heavy, oily distillate from double-retort copper pot stills, and a light, clean one from the continuous column still. Barbadian rum is defined by the marriage of the two.
4. Both are aged separately in ex-bourbon American oak in the Barbadian heat, where the angels’ share runs 6–8 percent a year, so a Barbadian five-year-old tastes far older than a Scottish one.
5. The master blender marries pot and column stocks of different ages to a house profile — banana, vanilla, toasted almond and dry oak — and reduces to bottling strength. Eclipse is the everyday blend, Black Barrel is finished in heavily charred casks, XO is the oldest.
6. To drink it neat, use a tulip glass, no ice at first, and add a few drops of water to open the vanilla; XO in particular collapses under a lot of ice.
7. For rum punch, build in a jug: one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak — the Barbadian rhyme every islander knows.
8. Stir with ice until the jug frosts, pour over cubes into a tumbler, dash the bitters on top and grate nutmeg over the surface. Nutmeg and bitters are not garnish, they are part of the recipe.

Technique

• Barbados regulates its rum tightly: no added sugar or flavouring is permitted in Barbadian rum, which is why the style tastes dry compared with sweetened Spanish-style rums.
• Do not attempt to distil at home. Unlicensed distilling is illegal in most countries and badly cut spirit carries a real risk of methanol poisoning.
• The 1703 date on the label refers to the earliest surviving deed listing stills on the estate, not to a bottling; the brand name honours John Sober’s partner John Gay Alleyne.

Substitutions

• If Mount Gay is unavailable, another Barbadian pot-and-column blend such as Doorly’s or Foursquare gives the same dry, nutty profile.
• Cane syrup can be replaced with 2:1 demerara sugar syrup, which brings the punch slightly closer to a Jamaican style.

Variations

• Mount Gay and coconut water over ice, the everyday beach drink on the west coast.
• The Corn n’ Oil: 60 ml aged Barbadian rum, 15 ml falernum, 10 ml lime and a heavy dash of bitters over crushed ice.

History

A deed of 1703 records rum distilling at the estate, and the brand claims to be the world’s oldest; Barbados calls itself the birthplace of rum.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mount Gay rum?

Mount Gay rum is a wine & spirit from Barbados: golden Barbadian rum with banana and vanilla notes, sipped or mixed. A deed of 1703 records rum distilling at the estate, and the brand claims to be the world’s oldest; Barbados calls itself the birthplace of rum.

How long does Mount Gay rum take to make?

Mount Gay rum takes 10 min of preparation and 2 to 14 years of ageing of cooking. The recipe makes 1 bottle to serve many, plus 1 rum punch. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mount Gay rum?

Yes, within limits. If Mount Gay is unavailable, another Barbadian pot-and-column blend such as Doorly’s or Foursquare gives the same dry, nutty profile. Cane syrup can be replaced with 2:1 demerara sugar syrup, which brings the punch slightly closer to a Jamaican style.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mount Gay rum?

Barbados regulates its rum tightly: no added sugar or flavouring is permitted in Barbadian rum, which is why the style tastes dry compared with sweetened Spanish-style rums.