Mount Gay home is the Island of Barbados. There, the rum is produced by Mount Gay Distilleries, which dates back to 1703, making the distillery the oldest still operating commercial rum distillery. The distillery is named after John Gay Alley. He was a friend of John Sober, who bought the distillery in 1747. John Gay became the managing director and was so accomplished in his work that the owner decided to rename the distillery after John Gay’s death. The distillery operated as a family business until 1989, when it was bought by Remy Cointreau.

Mount Gay rums are made from molasses and coral stone filtered groundwater. The mixture is used with special yeasts and distilled in both a traditional copper pan and a column distillery. Finally, the distillates are matured in oak barrels and diluted to bottling strength using groundwater pumped from a centuries-old well.

Silver or light rum is a blend of pot and column distilled rums. It has been aged for some time in ex-Bourbon barrels. Later it is filtered clear and diluted to bottling strength. A 70 cl bottle is bought at a discounted price of 13.99 €.

The nose is neutral, it has a very light caramel aroma and a hint of banana. The taste is also neutral, dry and soft. The light carameliness and fine sweetness of the banana are in the background. The burn is light and the aftertaste short. Mount Gay is more neutral than the big players Bacardi and Havana Club. When drinking it neat, it is very mild, so it is definitely a mixing rum. It goes well with Mojito, where the light caramel aroma goes well with lime and mint. The Daiquiri made by Mount Gay, is clean-lined and pleasant. Compared to cheaper white rums, Mount Gay doesn’t have a cheap molasses and fruit flavours. So while it’s very neutral, it’s a high-quality and versatile rum for a plenty of cocktails.

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