As the Mount Gay Distillery is the oldest official distillery in the world established 1703 as the label denotes, I don’t think we need to worry too much about the heritage and authenticity of the contents of this Extra Old rum. The Mount Gay estate was inherited in 1747 by his son, the ironically named, James Sober. During the latter part of the 18th century, both James and his son, Cumberbatch, spent a good deal of time in England, thus they were unable to properly regulate their property. Accordingly, Cumberbatch appointed his friend, Sir John Gay Alleyne, to control the estate. Sir John died in 1801 and Cumberbatch named the estate, Mount Gay, in his memory. The plantation remained with the Sober family until 1860. The Mount Gay plantation was acquired by the businessman Aubrey Ward in the early part of the 20th century. He expanded the company and marketed the product with his business partner, John Hutson.

The new presentation of the Mount Gay Extra Old Cask Reserve Rum is in keeping with the Eclipse (Mount Gay’s entry level offerings). The bottle is slightly shorter and rounder. It also has a very nice cork stopper. Like the Eclipse the MGXO has Mount Gay Distilleries etched into the glass of the bottle, as pictured. Mount Gay has been closely linked to the world of sailing for decades, as symbolized by its red (often worn-out pink) logo-bearing hat. You can’t buy one — at least not directly from Mount Gay. The only way to get one is to race in one of the scores of regattas that the brand sponsors every year. The new distiller is a glass-ceiling-breaking powerhouse.One such variety in use is BT7782, which translates to bred in Barbados, selected for growth in Trinidad in 1977, and assigned the number 82 during research.

The master blender at Mount Gay is in the shape of Allen Smith who has been with the distillery over 20 years. Again this adds a guarantee as to what you will get in the glass. The distillery currently features four different types of stills: small Spanish and Scottish pot stills, a Coffey column still, which was introduced in the 1970s, and the most recent addition, an Irish column still. Though the distillery’s first Coffey still only dates to the 1970s, other column designs were added to the mix around the time of American Prohibition. No matter what still is being used, all distillates are co-fermented (more on that right below). There’s something familiar in the air.

In the glass the rum exhibits itself to be a lot lighter than in the bottle. However it still shows to be a lot darker than the Eclipse. It is a nice dark reddish brown colour. Nicely aged. Mount Gay co-ferments local and imported molasses. The proprietary yeast strain is based off a captured wild yeast, which Mount Gay’s team then bred for consistency. You’ll know a Mount Gay fan when you see them.