Review: Mount Gay Single Estate Series 25_04

Mount Gay’s fourth Single Estate Series rum is here (Single Estate Series #3 was a white rum which we did not taste and which is not available in the U.S.), the Barbados-based producer’s exploration of terroir in the rum world. This fourth release was created using 100% sugar cane grown at the Mount Gay Estate in 2019. The molasses produced from that can had a particularly high sugar content of 72%.

Two different distillations were used to create this release — both from the 2019 harvest and both completed in Mount Gay’s pot stills. (The bottle code of Vt19dp refers to the harvest year, the “dp” referencing the double pot still.) The resulting blend was drawn from the two rums being mingled, both 100% aged in ex-bourbon casks for five years. No chill filtration or additives aside from proofing down to 55% abv.

The rum was tasted with Trudiann Branker via Zoom, with three pairings: pear preserves, duck prosciutto, and salted caramel.

Mount Gay Single Estate Series 25_04 Review

Ultra-tropical on the nose, heavy with esters. Grilled pineapple and caramel notes offer an immediate sweetness, but the rum is underpinned by ample grassiness and some oak-driven woodiness — including a pinch of barrel char. Baked apple notes and a Christmas spice quality create a pie-like quality to the rum with some time in glass — heavily amplified by nosing this rum alongside a bit of pear preserves (my favorite of the three pairings).

The palate explodes with flavor. Vanilla and caramel are instantaneous, with notes of brown banana and some smoky cocoa nib elements quickly emerging. Gently peppery and warming on the palate, a drop of water helps to coax out some more earthy flavors (amplified by the duck prosciutto bite), with a clearer pepper quality. The finish features light notes of orange peel and a gentle spray of saline (perfect for picking out with salted caramel), both of which provide a cleansing quality.

This is once again an outstanding rum and a worthy entrant in the series — arguably raising the quality bar on this project once again.

110 proof.

A / $350 (700ml)

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