At the northern tip of Barbados, Mount Gay has refined the delicate art of blending and aging rich, flavorful rums for 320 years. Mount Gay is the world’s oldest rum distillery where rum has been continuously crafted on the same land since 1703. This year, Mount Gay is releasing The PX Sherry Cask Expression, the sixth limited edition in the Master Blender Collection series. The collection is a celebration of Mount Gay’s heritage and expertise in rum making and is released in limited quantities every year.
The limited-edition series debuted in 2018 with the release of XO: The Peat Smoke Expression, created by former Master Blender Allen Smith. In 2019, when Master Blender Trudiann Branker took over, she released award-winning expressions Pot Still Rum, The Port Cask Expression, Andean Oak Cask and The Madeira Cask Expression.
For this year’s release, Branker looked to Southern Spain where Pedro Ximenez Sherry is made from grapes dried in the sun and then aged to make the iconic fortified wine. This expression is crafted with pot and column still rums that have been aged in ex-American whiskey casks for a minimum of 20 years in the tropical heat and humidity of Barbados, which accentuates the interaction between the spirit and the wood. The rums were then finished for an additional year in Pedro Ximenez Sherry wine casks.
Trudiann worked closely with her R&D team to explore some of Mount Gay’s oldest rums, searching for those suitable to being finished in PX Sherry wine casks. The incredible flavors of burnt oak and toasted vanilla imparted on the 20-year-old rums by the American Whiskey casks offered the perfect flavor profile to benefit from finishing in the PX Sherry wine casks. Closely observing the rums over the final year of finishing, the PX Sherry wine casks created layers of roundness and complexity. Alongside her team, she observed the liquid’s nuanced profile, waiting for the perfect moment to remove it from the barrels and bottle it.
The result is an incredible, complex rum that has benefitted from a particularly long period of tropical aging. At first sight, the rum has deep golden hues and as it opens, the nose is full of maraschino cherry, stewed fruits, charred oak and butterscotch. The palate brings red fruits, salted caramel, banana, toasted vanilla and velvety oak. This rum opens up over time, offering roundness and layers of flavor that unfold with every sip.
“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,” noted Master Blender Trudiann Branker. “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 PX Sherry Cask Expression is best enjoyed neat.
The Master Blender Collection: The PX Sherry Cask Expression is bottled at 45% ABV and is non-chill filtered in order to preserve its rich aromas and natural color. This expression will be limited to 4,200 bottles and will be available at select premium retailers throughout the world in 700 ml sizes for $270 USD.
For More Information:
https://www.mountgayrum.com/