Mount Gay Returns to Coffey Still After Decades for Seventh Master Blender Expression
Last Thursday (June 4), the world's oldest rum distillery Mount Gay announced their seventh Master Blender Expression, but there's a special twist behind it.
Producing just a little over 5000 bottles, this rum was produced in a coffey still before being aged for four years in heavily charred ex-bourbon casks.
Thing is, this particular coffey still hasn't been used by the distillery since the 1970s.
Mount Gay's coffey still was installed in the early 1940s and officially retired in 1976. The distillery said it had to collect its various pieces from across the distillery and the Mount Gay Museum in order to rebuild it.
This offering is said to balance aromas of pear, vanilla, nutmeg and leather with a toasty palate of grapefruit, honey and cinnamon.
Coffey Still Cross Section
The namesake still was invented by Irishman Aeneas Coffey in 1830. Also known as a column still, the apparatus can continuously distill spirits without manual cleaning between each batch, which results in higher proof spirits.
Mount Gay pays tribute to this legacy with its latest release at 58% ABV.
Equally instrumental in this expression’s influences is Reynold “Blues” Hinds, a distillation expert who joined Mount Gay in 1963, and helped rebuild the still two years before he passed in 2021.
The antique coffey still has been renamed the Blue’s Still in his honor.
Mount Gay's Master Blender Coffey Still expression will soon be made available online at USD$199.
88 Bamboo Editorial Team
Say hi! to the freshest face on the block!
 |
Lok Bing Hong A budding journalist that loves experiencing new things and telling people's stories. I have 30 seconds of coherence a day. I do not decide when they come. They are not consecutive. |
Get the latest news, recommendations and exclusive offers, poured straight into your inbox! Subscribe here.
Call for Contributors
Want To Make a Good Drink Last Forever?
