Mount Gay Distilleries has released in Singapore the Mount Gay XO The Peat Smoke Expression, a unique and limited edition rum that’s been further cask matured in Islay whisky casks.

Rémy Cointreau-owned, Barbados-based Mount Gay is known for many things as a distillery – recognised as the world’s oldest commercial maker of rum, for example  – but shying away from experimenting with new expressions isn’t one. In fact Mount Gay has released a number of rums over the course of its history to honour its history or to commemorate special occasions – the Mount Gay Black Barrel, added to its core range back in 2014, was a celebration of its 311-year history; most recently, it released a special blend called the XO Cask Strength to celebrate the island country’s 50th year of independence.

And then sometimes you release something in the name of experimentation. Cue the first release of Mount Gay’s Master Blender Collection, the XO The Peat Smoke Expression. Mount Gay master blender Allen Smith essentially combined column and pot still rums and matured that for 8 to 15 years in American oak barrels, and followed that up with a further 6 months aging in casks that previously held peated whisky from Scotland’s Islay whisky making region to give the liquid a complex array of salty and smoky notes. The result is a finely honed balance between aromas of ripe banana and toasted nuts of XO, and ripe with the salty and smoky notes bestowed by the peated whisky casks.

“It is with great pride that I introduce you to the first edition of my Master Blender Collection,” said Allen Smith, himself an avid whisky geek. “I have worked to capture the perfect balance of elegant rum overtones and mellow, peated whisky undertones.”

“This one-of-a-kind blend is sure to please the most discerning of palates with its unconventional character, freshness, and aromatic complexity,” he adds.

Mount Gay wasn’t upfront with the provenance of the Islay casks, but since there’s pretty much only one Islay whisky distillery in the Rémy Cointreau portfolio we’re putting our money on the self-styled ‘progressive Hebridean distillers’ of Bruichladdich, which makes the heavily peated Port Charlotte and the insanely peated Octomore whisky ranges.

The cask strength Mount Gay XO The Peat Smoke Expression at 57.5% ABV is a limited run of just 6,120 bottles available worldwide. Just about ten bottles will be made available in Singapore – rum connoisseurs in Singapore can savour this unique, unconventional blend at Manhattan at Regent Singapore and selected cocktail bars from January 2019.


Follow us on Telegram to get updated on events and other spirited announcements!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.