Mount Gay Single Estate Series Release 01
Mount Gay Single Estate Series Release 01 is a limited-edition Barbados rum bottled at 55% ABV (110 proof), made from estate-grown sugarcane harvested in 2016 and 2017, 100% copper pot still distilled and tropically aged 5–6 years in ex-bourbon casks. Only 4,002 individually numbered bottles were released. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 55% (110 proof)
- Size: 750mL (tag; global bottling 700mL — confirm on label)
- Harvests: 2016 and 2017 estate sugarcane, St Lucy, Barbados
- Production: 100% copper pot still; 9-day fermentation; ex-bourbon casks, 5–6 years tropical aging; no additives, non-chill filtered
- Edition: 4,002 individually numbered bottles (1,200 US allocation), 2023 inaugural release
Mount Gay’s Estate Rum: Eight Years in the Making
In 2015 Mount Gay bought back 324 acres of its old estate and started farming sugarcane again — growing, milling, fermenting, distilling, aging and blending everything at home in St Lucy. Eight years later came Release 01: grade-A molasses from estate cane, a nine-day fermentation, 100% copper pot still distillation and 5–6 years of tropical aging in ex-bourbon barrels. Master blender Trudiann Branker bottled it at 55% ABV, her preferred strength for the house’s pot still rums, and the house recommends it neat. Only 4,002 bottles exist, each individually numbered, in an opaque bottle made from 70% recycled glass.
Tasting Notes
Big and bold on the nose — dessert and baking spice, toffee, mango and banana with tropical fruit. The palate is rich and decadent: sweet mango, coconut shavings, honey, toffee and cracked pepper with light oak. Long, warming finish of toffee, brown sugar, mango, coconut and tobacco.
How to Enjoy
Mount Gay’s house serve is neat, and at 55% ABV a Barbados rum of this depth earns it. If you want to open it up, a few drops of water coax out more pineapple and sea salt. This is a collector-grade sipper, not a mixing rum.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Mount Gay Single Estate Series?
An annual series of estate rums — sugarcane grown, milled, fermented, distilled, aged and blended entirely at Mount Gay’s estate in St Lucy, Barbados. Release 01 (2023) is the inaugural edition.
How many bottles of Mount Gay Single Estate Release 01 were made?
4,002 individually numbered bottles, with about 1,200 allocated to the US at a $400 MSRP.
What is the ABV of Mount Gay Single Estate Series Release 01?
55% ABV (110 proof) — bottled at master blender Trudiann Branker’s preferred strength for pot still rum.
Serious rum collectors shop Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA — order Mount Gay Single Estate Series Release 01 online, plus the rest of the Mount Gay lineup.