Review: Mount Gay Single Estate Series 24_02

Mount Gay launched its Single Estate Series rum last year to great acclaim, the end-product of an eight-year journey that began with acquiring its own 324-acre sugar cane estate in 2015 and using that cane to make its own molasses, ferment its own juice, distill rum from that juice, and age it in barrels — all on site. (Master blender Trudiann Branker says it’s a four-hour drive from cane to still, showcasing how close these elements are.) Now, Single Estate Series 23_01 has a follow up: Single Estate Series 24_02.

The code on the bottle — Vt18d2 — tells some of the story about this rum: Harvested in 2018 (single vintage, compared to the dual-vintage 2023 bottling, hence “Vt18”), 100% pot still double distillation (hence “d2”), all bourbon barrel aged, 5 years old. No added sugars or colors.

On a Zoom tasting with Branker, we not only got to compare 24_02 and 23_01, we got to taste the molasses and the sugar produced from this cane which eventually became this rum.

Such a different experience here: Really fruit-forward, not just redolent with notes of flambeed banana but also citrus. There’s lots of spice and vanilla to add nuance, plus a gentle turn of earth — though never heavy or overblown with the terroir. The essence of the molasses is front and center, emerging as a lightly pruny, darker fruitiness.

All of the above hit the palate, though perhaps in reverse: The pruny note provides an immediate slick of dark black fruit, smeared with gritty molasses and dark chocolate. Spice follows, then nutty almond notes. Brown butter and more vanilla on the back end, with just a spritz of saline and a squeeze of orange oil to lighten things up. A clear reprise of cooked bananas mixed with some green banana lingers on the sweet finish.

As exciting as the original Single Estate Series 23_01 was, 24_02 really raises the bar and shows this series coming into its own. It’s easily one of the top rums of the year.

110 proof.

A / $400 (700ml) / mountgayrum.com

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