Mount Gay Rum Mount Gay Black Barrel NV 750ml

Finished in “deeply toasted and charred” Bourbon casks, this mouthwatering small-batch rum skews to the sweeter side, offering bold notes of cola, allspice and vanilla, finishing brisk and spicy. Sip straight or mix for the ultimate rum & Coke.

When people talk about the key factors that make great rum, they usually focus on either the kind of cane sugar getting fermented (juice or molasses) or the kind of still used (pot or column). With Black Barrel Rum, Mount Gay master blender Allen Smith demonstrates the impact barrel aging and finishing can have. He begins by blending pot-stilled aged rums with column-distilled aged rum, then moves them into charred Bourbon casks ("black barrels"). The result tastes as if a rum has a baby with a Bourbon that was one-quarter Scotch. The aroma is laces with salinity and smoke along with the spice, citrus and molasses funk common to Barbados rums; the flavors run to cherry and vanilla, with cola-like characteristics that make it a perfect gateway rum for whiskey drinkers. Use it in a Manhattan for a softer and rounder variation on the classic.