Mount Gay has introduced the second expression in its Single Estate Series, the 24_02_Vt18d2.
Crafted by Master Blender Trudiann Branker, this second release expands the terroir-driven range, with a blend of rums produced from the 2018 Mount Gay Estate sugar cane, making this liquid the first vintage in this limited-edition series.
In 2015, Mount Gay acquired 324 acres of the Mount Gay and Oxford Estates, and for the first time in centuries, the distillery was a vertically integrated operation from cane to bottle. Since then, the team has harvested Estate sugar canes each year and transformed them into molasses, before fermenting, distilling and aging the distillates at the distillery.
The Single Estate Series is created using 100% molasses from sugar canes grown at the Mount Gay Estate in St Lucy, Barbados. The molasses is then fermented for nine days. This longer fermentation reveals flavors with specific Barbadian notes.
Mount Gay Single Estate Series 24_02_Vt18d2 has been fully distilled in copper pot stills and matured in American oak (Quercus Alba) ex-bourbon barrels.
On the nose is citrus and sweet fruit aromas, according to distillery notes. Flavors include grapefruit, plums and banana balanced with spice, a hint of almonds, sea salt and a slight milk chocolate note. The palate brings brown sugar, oak, grapefruit and floral notes, with a slightly salty smokiness.
“What makes 24_02 different and special is that it is the first vintage in the Single Estate Series, coming from just one year of harvest,” explains Branker. “23_01 was a blend of two harvest years, 2016 & 2017. 24_02 showcases the unique character of Mount Gay’s Estate on a single year, made with 100% sugar cane grown on the Estate, in St Lucy, Barbados, illustrating further our connection to Mount Gay’s heritage and terroir, allowing consumers to discover the influence of a warm and sunny season until the harvest.”
“This detail is reflected in the stunning blue label: ’24’ representing for the release year and ’02’ for the release number in the series,” she adds. “As a new feature, ‘Vt18’ stands for ‘Vintage 18’, referring to the single-year sugar cane harvest used in this expression, and ‘d2’ stands for the fact that I blended together distillates from two distinct pot still distillations.”
The eco-designed packaging is meant to reflect Mount Gay’s commitment to sustainability, with 70% recycled glass bottles and minimal ink on the label. For this release, the Mount Gay team fashioned a Caribbean blue label, inspired by the Bajan summer skies visible during the Summer 2018 harvest. Each bottle has a QR code, providing consumers with more info on the rum-making process.
Bottled at 55% ABV, Mount Gay Single Estate Series 24_02_Vt18d2 is non-chill filtered. This expression is limited to 5,418 bottles worldwide, with only 1,200 available in the U.S. at select retailers, for a suggested price of $400.
This follows the recent release of Master Blender Collection: The Coffey Still Expression.
