Angel's Share Title
In 2015, under the guidance of Master Blender Trudiann Branker, Mount Gay acquired 324 acres with plans to establish their own sugarcane estate in Barbados. Over time, they established the necessary infrastructure to support a farm-to-bottle product and released their first product in the series in 2023. To create the single estate series two products, Mount Gay harvested their sugar cane in 2018, pressed it, and created molasses from it. They take the molasses and let it ferment for nine days before distilling the liquid using copper pot stills in two separate distillations. After distillation, the rum is aged in used American white oak bourbon barrels before being bottled at 55% ABV.
Appearance
Easy to spot on the shelf, the product is packaged in a black box with a blue label. The 700-ml black opaque bottle inside the box matches it perfectly. The bottle is made up of 70% recycled material and has a small blue label that matches the box.The liquid has a light golden amber color in the glass. I swirled the liquid and watched a small band form around the glass. Over the next few minutes, the band slowly beaded up and reluctantly released a single wave of legs, leaving a ring of beads around the glass.
Aroma
The aroma of the rum has a strong citrus zest forward note that hits and fades quickly, letting notes of sweet tropical flowers, tart grapefruit, plums, toasted almonds, banana flambé and oaky wood spices.
Palate
The first sip delivers a swirl of smoky oak, plums, and brown sugar. Additional sips reveal notes of leather, salt, cane flower, and light vanilla. As the rum transitions to the finish, the oak notes take over lingering in a long finish.
Review
During the 2024 Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC) conference, I had the opportunity to experience both series one and two rums. While I found series one enjoyable with its cane forward flavor profile, the series two release had a depth of flavor that showcased Trudiann Branker’s skills as a blender and perfectly hit the flavor profile I look for in a sipping rum. The initial tasting at TOTC left a positive impression and it was good to experience how well the rum held up while being evaluated in an isolated testing environment. Understanding that in a lot of ways this product is a passion project of Trudiann Branker and the Mount Gay team, I like the attention to detail and the way they married this product to their long-term sustainability efforts. Another nice touch is that each bottle comes with a code and an online component that shares all the details about the rum production. This compensates for the brevity of bottle label. The only bad news about this product is that it will be globally limited and priced accordingly. However, for devoted rum enthusiasts who enjoy Mount Gay rums, this release will make a great gift for the holidays or to share with others who can truly appreciate the flavors of the rum.
