Yahoo Sports Mount Gay’s New Master Blender Collection Is a Rum for Whiskey Drinkers
A good rum is worth drinking based on its own unique merits and flavor profile, but there are certain expressions that are particularly appealing to whiskey drinkers. That is certainly the case with the new 2023 Master Blender release from esteemed Barbados distillery Mount Gay.
The Master Blender series of high-end rums launched in 2018 with the release of XO: The Peat Smoke Expression. Allen Smith was master blender at the time, but the following year that role was taken over by Trudiann Branker, who has made her own imprint upon the collection. Master Blender releases under Branker’s watch have included Pot Still Rum, the Port Cask Expression, Andean Oak Cask, and the Madeira Cask Expression. And now we have The PX Sherry Cask Expression, a well-aged rum that will appeal to whiskey drinkers, particularly fans of sherry cask-matured scotch.
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The rum was distilled in pot and column stills, and aged for 20 years in American whiskey barrels in Barbados. That’s a particularly long time in a tropical climate, as the heat and humidity are considered to be factors in accelerating the maturation process. The rum then spent an additional year in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, a type of barrel that also plays a big part in the scotch whisky industry. The Macallan and the GlenDronach, for example, are two single malt distilleries that use this type of cask, along with other types of sherry butts, to mature nearly all of their whisky. Like all Mount Gay rum, no sugar was added to the spirit.
“I was inspired by the process behind PX sherry, and I wanted to discover how a well matured rum would interact with the richness of the casks used to age these fortified wines,” said Branker in a statement. “Going through some of our oldest rums to find the right ones was an incredible journey, tasting rums that have been placed in our bonds two decades ago. I was thrilled to find 20-year-old rums that stood up in terms of body and character to benefit from being finished in PX sherry casks, and I’m honored to add this to our Master Blender Collection.”
The rum is bottled at 90 proof and non-chill filtered. The palate is bright despite its age, with rich oak notes followed by black pepper, cinnamon, fig, raisin, molasses, and caramel. The effects of the PX sherry finish are notable, but do not override the core identity of Mount Gay’s high-quality rum. Just 4,200 bottles are available (SRP $270). If you’re a serious rum drinker, or a whiskey fan looking to expand, give this bottle a try. And if you can’t find one, you can explore the entire Mount Gay collection (including past Master Blender releases) at websites like ReserveBar.
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