Mount Gay Rum Eclipse

Barbados
$25-30
www.mountgayrum.com

When I was in Vegas a couple of weeks ago, one of the 20 or so eateries in the casino resort I was staying at was rumjungle. Much like everything else in Vegas, this promised to be The Biggest, The Best, The Hottest, The “fill in the blank here” EVER.   In fact, when it comes to rum, rumjungle isn’t lying. A 20,000 square-foot spectacle for the senses, this Latin/Caribbean restaurant boasts the world’s most extensive rum selection – with over 200 in stock.  Of course, these are housed in an expansive rum bar (144 feet long and 19 feet high).   Though the lineup, thumping bass, VIP bottle service starting at ‘just $125’ and the featured Pain Killer cocktail prompted us to seek quieter barstools, the thought of all that rum has stuck in my mind.

I’ll be honest – I don’t usually give too much thought to rum.  Sure, I like a good Dark n’ Stormy, but I haven’t had the chance to give this Caribbean spirit its due. Rum is made from sugarcane byproducts such as molasses and sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak and other barrels.  Style differentiation comes through distillation method, barrel aging and blending. The grades used to describe rum depend on where it was produced.  These vary from location to locations, but generally follows as thus:

Light Rums, aka silver rums and white rums. In general, has very little flavour aside from a general sweetness, and serves accordingly as a base for cocktails.

Gold Rums, aka amber rums. Medium-bodied and generally aged, these gain their dark colour from aging in wooden barrels (usually the charred white oak barrels that are the byproduct of Bourbon Whiskey). They have more flavour, and are stronger tasting than Silver Rum, and can be considered a midway-point between Silver/Light Rum and the darker varieties.

Spiced Rum These rums obtain their flavour through addition of spices and, sometimes, caramel. Most are darker in colour, and based on gold rums.

Dark Rum aka black rum.  Generally aged longer, in heavily charred barrels. Dark rum has a much stronger flavour than either light or gold rum, and hints of spices can be detected, along with a strong molasses or caramel overtone.

Premium Rum As with other sipping spirits, a market exists for premium and super-premium boutique-branded rums. They have more character and flavour than their “mixing” counterparts, and are generally consumed without the addition of other ingredients.

What better place to start my rum discovery than with Mount Gay Rum– said to be (Vegas-esque) the world’s first and oldest distillery – founded in 1703.   Mount Gay calls itself “The rum that invented rum”.  Catchy.  Eclipse is a gold rum – a blend of single and double distilled rums, and shines a bright true-to-its-name gold in the glass.  Rich molasses and sweet floral aromas saunter out of the glass, along with light flavours of caramel, banana, spice, pepper, almond and vanilla.  Honey smooth and lengthy, though light.

If you want to try a super premium Mount Gay rum, look for their 1703 Old Cask Selection ($125-150), blended with the best bourbon-cask aged rums from the past 10-30 years.

Rating:  (click here to see what our wine ratings mean)