Mount Gay Barbados Golden Rum, XO Triple Cask Blend, 70cl

Product Information

The “new” Mount Gay has a slightly oilier, richer mouthfeel as well and seems to balance out a little better on the finish. Mount Gay Extra Old or XO as they seem to have re-branded it. For those in the know Mount Gay Extra Old is often known as MGXO. The XO notation on the Mount Gay is pretty standard across the rum and spirits industry to denote an aged spirit (without actually noting how old it is!). One such variety in use is BT7782, which translates to bred in Barbados, selected for growth in Trinidad in 1977, and assigned the number 82 during research.

Mount Gay Distilleries has released several limited edition rums over the course of their history to honor their nautical heritage or commemorate important occasions in the history of Barbados. [7] Visitors Centre in Parish of St. Michael Nosing Mount Gay XO Triple Cask Blend, I am immediately reminded of just how nice the nose on MGXO always was. The signature coconut aromas burst out at you. There is nice fruity note on the nose as well as the coconut – a kind of rum and raisin like aroma going down. On the nose “old” Mount Gay is a touch more aggressive. Just a tiny bit more “boozy” and maybe more malty..The Triple Cask Blend seems slightly more rounded – a tiny bit sweeter. Maybe a touch better balanced. I prefer the newer incarnation though being completely honest – after a few I might not necessarily notice the difference. Presentation wise, Mount Gay have adopted a cleaner colour scheme. More in keeping with their more recent Limited Edition bottlings. This is a good move as the previous XO’s colour scheme, did look a little washed out. Almost like camouflage! However, in my scoring I found personally found a little extra something in the Captain Bligh XO (not even a Bajan but very similar in style). Still MGXO come’s very highly recommended. It is a beautiful well balanced classic rum.Mount Gay Eclipse rum has a very distinctive flavour. There are other rums made on the island, but Mount Gay is the oldest and most prominent. [16]

Now for the review and this will be in two parts. First up I am going to review Mount Gay XO Triple Cask Blend on it’s own. With no comparisons to it’s predecessor. Then I am going to try it alongside a glass of my freshly opened Mount Gay XO non Triple Cask Blend. The nose is very fruity. Raisin, prunes and currants with a little banana and some tropical fruits a little pineapple perhaps. There is good evidence of ageing on the nose with nice woody notes. There is still a very spirit like smell present but it is nothing in comparison to the Eclipse. Mount Gay Eclipse: An aged rum developed in 1911 and named for the total solar eclipse and the passage of Halley's comet in 1910.It’s quite spicy with a fair amount of oak and some sweet bourbon like vanilla aromas. Notes of dark chocolate float in and out giving the nose a slightly richer overall profile. Mount Gay XO Triple Cask Blend has like all good well aged Barbados rums – a really nice well balanced, easy going nature to us. For many this is not “extreme” enough for me not appreciating rums such as these is almost laughable.

I like the presentation of the MGXO and I also like the robust card sleeve which the rum is housed in. It isn’t cheap and flimsy and gives some nice information regarding the heritage of MGXO. Things like cork stoppers and cardboard sleeves may seem slightly superfluous but sometimes they can be very important when deciding which rum to take to the counter and buy. As part of the nosing (and tasting process) I also tried the R L Seale’s and Captain Bligh XO. Of the three rums I found Mount Gay to be in the middle in terms of fruit aroma’s. It was also in the middle in terms of oaked notes. Captain Bligh has a slightly more fruity sherried approach (much like Doorly’s XO). R L Seale’s more complex and woody to the nose with fruit only intermittently coming through. In the glass the spirit presents itself as rich dark brown with an orange hue. It’s a “traditional” dark spirits colour. Maybe a dash of E150 for consistency. Mount Gay do not do any other additives. In the glass the re is no discernible difference between the rums. They could be switched around quite easily and I wouldn’t have noticed. They are your standard aged spirit colour. Towards the end of 2019 and after over 25 years with Mount Gay, Allen Smith stepped down. His replacement as Master Blender Trudiann Branker, has wasted no time in making her mark. In 2019 Mount Gay released a Pot Sill only blend. I haven’t actually bought a bottle as yet, so alas no review.

Paul Senft

From a geological perspective, Barbados is different from volcanically formed Caribbean islands. Barbados is actually the product of accumulated and uplifted coral limestone. That means the island has lots of underground water, a key element in what makes Mount Gay unique and why the British decided to focus sugarcane and rum production here in the 17th century. The distillery and plantation grounds are home to a centuries-old, 300-plus-foot well. The water drawn from this well is still used for the distillate and dilution. There’s a virtuous Caribbean circle. If you are a hardcore regular Mount Gay XO drinker then the differences may seem more dramatic. For me the rums are still pretty similar. Overall in terms of profile length and delivery, they are pretty similar both start sweet and have a fairly spicy and dry mid palate which leads to a long dry woody finish. The mid palate moves into a more “charred” note – slightly smoky with lots of ginger and oak spices. Underneath all this is a slightly honeyed sweetness which carries the rum along into its long and punchy finish. I would say that this is a tiny bit “better” (or more to my tastes) than the previous Mount Gay XO. That said and as I’m sitting here really enjoying it – I’m not sure if it’s worth an extra point.

Mount Gay’s current master distiller, Trudiann Branker, is the first woman to run things in the distillery’s history. A native Bajan, she studied Chemistry at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and also has an MBA. Following a five-year apprenticeship under Mount Gay’s previous master distiller, she took on her current role. The first special expression she’s been working on will debut in fall 2019. There are four main expressions. Now the other big difference between Mount Gay XO and this new Triple Cask Blend is, errrmmm….the use of three different types of cask in ageing. Mount Gay has been closely linked to the world of sailing for decades, as symbolized by its red (often worn-out pink) logo-bearing hat. You can’t buy one — at least not directly from Mount Gay. The only way to get one is to race in one of the scores of regattas that the brand sponsors every year. The new distiller is a glass-ceiling-breaking powerhouse.This “new” Mount Gay XO is pretty impressive I must say. However, maybe the question on everyone’s lips is “Is it better than the Old Mount Gay XO?”