Velier Unveils New Mount Gay Single Estate Collection With Three Vintages Debut 2016, 2018 & 2023
In 2015, Mount Gay, the world's oldest active rum distiller, had embarked on an ambitious project to produce single estate rums where everything from cane to molasses, fermentation to distillation, and even bottling, would be entirely done from a single point of origin - that is, St. Lucy, Barbados. This would allow the distiller to singularly define its provenance, which would only come to light in 2023 when Mount Gay began releasing its Single Estate Series.
This was nothing short of a challenge which its Master Blender, Trudiann Branker, has detailed as having requiring the distillery to clear surrounding land, plant sugarcanes and eventually harvest them, which would then still require refining into high quality molasses before it can be distilled and subsequently fermented. This is of course contrary to much of the category where molasses are purchased from elsewhere to be used in the rum-making. Thus far four editions have been released as part of the series.
And with such a striking philosophy, it's unsurprising then that leading bottler Velier is getting in on the action, this time bottling three vintages of Mount Gay's Single Estate rums - 2016, 2018 and 2023. All three expressions have been distilled with a copper double retort pot still and aged in ex-Bourbon barrels.
The details of the rums are as follows:
Velier Mount Gay 2023 Single Estate, 66% ABV
Bourbon Barrels, 900 Bottles.
Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Bright gold.
Aroma: Rich, smooth. On the initial nose, aromas of Williams pear, vanilla, cut hay, acacia honey, and sage rub shoulders with liqueur-like scents of cane sugar and wax. With aeration, the aroma palette becomes increasingly herbaceous (alfalfa, clover), milky (coconut), and empyreumatic (eucalyptus).
Taste: Fine, slender. In turn abundantly fruity (pear, mirabelle plum, apple) and infused, the flavour palette stands as one with the nose. Then, squeezed citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit), spices (clove, green pepper), and licorice flavours (stick) provide plenty of vigor to a pleasantly saline mid-palate. Heady (geranium, mimosa), fibrous (sugar cane), and camphorated, the end of the palate soars.
Finish: Lively, characterful. Peppery, spicy, and medicated (aspirin), it also proves milky (coconut), lemony, and balsamic (thuja). Empyreumatic (Papier d’Arménie) and fruity (Williams pear eau-de-vie), the retro-olfaction is invigorated by mentholated and aquatic (reed, bamboo, rush) flavours brimming with realism.
Velier Mount Gay 2018 Single Estate, 60% ABV
Bourbon Barrels, 900 Bottles.
Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Old gold.
Aroma: Rich, smooth. Remarkably balanced, the initial nose is a flavourful melting pot of exotic (pineapple, banana), spicy (nutmeg, pepper), vanillic, and vegetal (sugar cane) scents. With aeration, aromas of Tiger Balm, cane sugar, candied fruits (plum, mirabelle), and licorice spread across the entire olfactory landscape.
Taste: Lively, taut. In the licorice and medicinal (tincture of iodine) extension of the nose, the flavour palette is energized by a multitude of citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit, orange, kumquat). Balsamic (pine, precious wood), the finish becomes increasingly powdery (grated ginger) and heady (iris concrete).
Finish: Both invigorating and smooth. Intimately intertwined, flavours of vanilla, ripe banana, and warm cane sugar feed an aftertaste with plenty of lift. Exhilaratingly fresh, the retro-olfaction echoes the crystalline character of a distillate whose fruity tones evoke a mirabelle plum eau-de-vie.
Velier Mount Gay 2016 Single Estate, 60% ABV
Bourbon Barrels, 900 Bottles.
Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Topaz.
Aroma: Broad, deep. At first, fragrances of beeswax, pineapple, mango, fresh ginger, and iris concrete form a handsomely contrasted initial olfactory sequence. With aeration, citrus scents (orange, bergamot, physalis) bring plenty of freshness to an aroma palette that has become more airy.
Taste: Both lively and full-bodied. Tenderly praline-tinged and spicy (cinnamon, nutmeg), the flavour palette quickly adorns itself with medicinal (Tiger Balm) and oxidative (balsamic vinegar, apricot kernel) tones of great elegance. Vegetal (sugar cane), powdery (cocoa), tangy (orange peel), and liqueur-like (cane sugar), the end of the palate radiates with luminosity.
Finish: Dense, complex. Mouthwatering with salinity while simultaneously revealing flavours of toffee and wildflower honey of extreme sweetness, it is gradually covered by notes of polish (shoe polish, walnut stain) and precious wood (sandalwood) of great nobility of expression. Fully aligned, the retro-olfaction and the dry extracts of the empty glass abound in flavours and scents of pipe tobacco, cane flowers, and fresh cane juice.
Kanpai!
88 Bamboo Editorial Team
