Mount Gay Black Barrel

My go to rum is mount gay, been to Barbados and visited the distillery. Great taste and love the opportunity to try the black barrel.

I'm a long-time bourbon drinker who is expanding his range into rum and this is my second selection, purchased today in my home state of Vermont. Delightful sweetness and can taste the char from the bourbon barrel. I'm a fan already!

Considdering this was easily availible in my local supermarket it did not fill me with confidence. My previous experience with Mount Gay was Eclipse, very sweet and too much vanilla for my liking.

After reading some reviews on here, looking for something less sweet, something with less vanilla flavour, a little darker, but still well within the "Carribean Gold" taste genre and within an acceptable mixing budget I thing I struck Black Barrel Gold!

My intention with this is to mix with ginger ale on a 50/50 to 30/70 mix, a few drops of bitters and yup. It ticks that box firmly.

Don't get me wrong. It can easily be enjoye on the rocks and the subtle tastes of caramel and oak are the first to come out.

There is another, more expensive, offering from another brand that brings more to the table for my mixing, but is no good for sipping so looses out on that.

Versatility, check.
Value, check (£20 to £25 at my local UK supermarket!)

I might keep a good few of these in stock.

A lot of smoke and a lot of "rummy goodness". It almost tastes like El Dorado 12 but without any added sugar.

This is one of those rums that I wanted to add to my list. Will I buy it again? Yes!

Nice light pour but a lot of alcohol on the nose.
The mouth feel is OK but thin.
There is a medium alcohol burn followed by very limited flavour.
It can be sipped, however I am more inclined to use it as a mixer.
The limited flavoring is then overshadowed by the mix so it becomes a base rum or alcohol source.
There are numerous good base rums out there for less money.

The bourbon flavours in this are just too overpowering for me to even call it a rum, really. It's definitely not bad although a little expensive for what it is - best enjoyed on the rocks or with ginger ale or similar, it's definitely not a sipper.

Don't drink neat. Ever. Put it with coke if you happen across a bottle of this.

I found it had a easy taste and was reasonably priced.

Released in the UK in 2014, the Mount Gay Black Barrel rum is made from single column and double pot distilled rum, though using a higher proportion of double pot distillates than their other expressions. It is also finished in heavily charred bourbon barrels before being bottled.
Nose: Richly warming notes of plump sultanas, cracked black pepper and creamy vanilla from the bourbon barrel finish.
Palate: Toasty. Deeply spicy, with plenty of cinnamon. A hint of liquorice and more vanilla.
Finish: A long, balanced finish, drifting between sweet and spice.
Overall: A fab step up from the standard Mount Gay rum.