Mount Gay

Barbados' Famed Mount Gay Rum Gets a Redesign

Filed under: Spirits, Architecture & Design

One of our very favorite spirits, Barbados' Mount Gay Rum is getting a new look courtesy of a Parisian design firm. QSLD Paris was charged with giving the iconic brand a refresher while keeping it firmly rooted in the traditions of the 300-year-old distillery.

QSLD came up with a new oval-shaped bottle, designed to be uncluttered and very comfortable to handle. The company crest is engraved on the bottle face and the label has been redesigned for a cleaner feel, while the rum's signature red cap remains.

QSLD had already re-designed the brand's Extra Old and 1703 Cask Selection bottlings before turning its attention to the classic, known as Eclipse. Founded by Denis Boudard, QSLD has done design work for several luxury brands including Guerlain, Lacoste, Chopard, Oscar de la Renta, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy.

The new design also contains cues to the rum's nautical heritage. A legend dating from the 1600s relates that in order to prove passage across the Atlantic from Europe to the "New World," sailors were obliged to bring back a barrel of Barbados rum.

As evidence of its "profound and privileged relationship with the sea, with sailors and with ships", every year Mount Gay Rum proudly sponsors over 120 regattas around the globe.

Tags: Barbados, design, distillery, Mount Gay, Paris, rum, spirits

Tasting the Mount Gay 1703 Rum

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

I tend not to think too much about rum. While other spirits are often showcased through martinis or meant to be sipped straight, rum is often swimming with fruit juice. It would be sacrilege to do that with the 1703 Old Cask Selection rum from Mount Gay. This latest treat from the world's oldest distillery deserves respect and earns its place with the growing coterie of fine aged rums. The 1703 Old Cask Selection comes in an elegant oval bottle with the Mount Gay seal embossed on it and could sit nicely behind the bar with cognacs, bourbons, brandies and other slow sippers.

The rum itself, made of golden sugar cane and the clean water of Barbados, is aged in former bourbon casks. Master blender Allen Smith has used rums aged for 10 to 30 years and his own experience of nearly 20 years to create a rum that has a cognac-like appeal. It is rich but also soft with a hint of something tropical, just a touch of sugary white flower and banana on the nose. The rum has a silken flavor with notes of dried mango and caramel grounded in the spiced earthiness of wood. It calls out for a late evening sunset, a fine cigar and the sort of lazy, meandering conversation that arises when no one needs to wake up early for work the next day. The 1703 will be rolled out next month for around $100 in major markets.

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Tags: aged rum, AgedRum, cocktails, drinks, mount gay, MountGay, rum

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