Review: Mount Gay Extra Old Rum

[Count Silvio]

The Mount Gay Estate is one of the oldest estates in the Caribbean, and definitely the oldest on Barbados. Many believe rum has been produced on the estate as early as 1663, which is the year William Sandiford bought the estate.

The estate included a still that was capable of producing rum, but the only legal and the oldest written evidence of rum production in the estate is from 1703, making Mount Gay the oldest rum producer in the world.

The estate lies in the northernmost parish of Barbados, St. Lucy and was originally called Mount Gilboa but renamed to Mount Gay in 1801 to honour Sir John Gay Alleyne, who had been appointed manager of the distillery in 1747 when the owner John Sober purchased the 280 acre plantation from William Sandiford.

Proceed to the frontpage for the tasting notes.

[Capn Jimbo]

(I hope) needless to say, MGXO is perhaps the most respected rum in the world, not least due to Mount Gay's status as the oldest continuously operating rum distillery in the world (1703). Although the current product is far from the original the company made every effort to maintain continuity and top quality. Historically there are really just a few rums which reflect the origins of rum, and MGXO is among those, along with Appleton, Barbancourt, and El Dorado, not to mention British Navy Rum.

It is perhaps the first rum you should buy, and continue to buy. It goes without saying that you can build your understanding of rum in this way by have MGXO and a few other reference standards for comparison anytime you taste a new rum. MGXO is really a blend of 10-17 year old rums, including both pot and continuously distilled rums. Jerry Edwards is the master blender and truly one of a very few artists in the rarified world of blending.

While I would disagree that MGXO is not complex, in your review you have found some of the key aromas, but the Extra Old keeps on revealing new layers, is entirely balanced and consistent and begins to approach notes that resemble those of a fine whiskey (as is true of all well-aged brown spirits).

Our review is at: http://rumproject.com/rumforum/viewtopic.php?t=14

Thanks again - I'd like to see more activity on this site, one of the best on the net...

[Count Silvio]

Thanks Jimbo, I think it is complex enough to keep one interested and I agree that it is one of the first rums one should buy and he is probably going to buy considering its price and global availability. Is it still 50 dollars in the states?

[Capn Jimbo]

The $50 price tag was very temporary, as the marketing's department introduction of the horrid new bottle wasn't enough to justify a nearly 80% increase the price. The prices came back down very quickly and now are maintained at about $33 or $34 dollars. Keep in mind that south Florida has perhaps the best selection and prices in the world for rum, mostly due to our very large hispanic and island population, and adjacency to the producers...

[Count Silvio]

Well that is good. The price here for a bottle of XO is about 50 bucks, which I think is very good considering the high tax rate on alcohol. Most other spirits aged less than XO have a beginning price of 80 dollars. Bear in mind that the AUD is stronger than the USD at the moment.

However if I come to Miami next year I'll be rich if the dollar is still the same!

[JaRiMi]

Unfortunately the Mount Gay Xo, as many other rums, seems to have lost some of the quality & flavour profile of its past days of glory...New bottling seems a bit sweeter, simpler than what the rum used to be. Darn this business...

[Count Silvio]

Probably reserved some of the older stocks for the 1703 or increased production due to high demand required changes. This happened to Angostura 1919 as well.