THE RUM THAT INVENTED RUM-MT GAY

WEATHER: Hot and 29C-sunny….

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Getting to some of the island

BUMMER OF THE DAY: One too many rumbos?

WORD OF THE DAY:  Mt Gay of course

The sun was out in full force today!  That would be right when I would be gone most of the day on my Mt Gay Rum tour.  I was to be collected from the hotel between 11-11.15am.  As I was going for a buffet lunch I thought about bypassing breakfast all together, but I had paid for that additionally on top of my room rate, it wasn’t automatically included, so I’s hate to waste 20 bucks, so I went down at my usual time with the plan of not eating as much as I normally do.  Well that was taken out of my hands as most of the food was already gone!  It was only 9.55am…where’s the food? Lucky for me, unlucky for the cooks, a lady with a clip board walked in 5 minutes after me, checking the baymarie and then headed into the kitchen.  It wasn’t long till there was food piping hot back where it should be.

It was nice to don a dress, pop on a necklace and I was nearly going to put on some makeup, but it was pretty humid and decided t I didn’t want to go over the top.  The transfer turned up at 11.30am and we were on our way.  We had a few more hotel stops, as usual, but I was okay with this as it gave me a chance to see some of the island and the different areas as we drove.  The road basically runs along the coast of the island, so you always got snippets of the beautiful blue ocean on our drive.  Even though it is such a beautiful setting, once you are out of resort-land, the ‘everyday’ living is island living.  Run down houses, double enforced security gates on shops and I would have to say that it isn’t a well-developed country from what I saw on the drive.  I remember Jamaica being like that as well.  Paradise in the resorts and then poverty on the ‘outside’.  There are a lot of ‘Rasta’s’ on the streets and they look so cool.  Long dreadlocked hair, some of them wearing the Bob Marley style hats over the dreads, it reminds me of our driver we had in Africa, Ben.  Every time I see someone with dreads, I think they look just like him.  It was also good to see where some of the resorts I had looked at online were located as we drive past them and I do have to say that where the Bougainvillea Beach Resort is located is in a pretty good location.  There aren’t a lot of shops or anything near us, but the beach and the actual resort look good comparing to the others.   

The drive to Mt Gay including 2 other stops took us 30 minutes.  The factory is located just 5 minutes’ drive through the city, so it was also good to see the capital, Bridgetown.  I was going to make a trip into town in the next few days, but after driving through, it doesn’t look like there is much to see, just shops and it looks like any other city to me, so I won’t bother.            

Once we arrived at Mt Gay, we check-in and paid the difference of the final payment and given a lunch ticket and then we had time to look around as we waited for the other transfers to arrive from the other hotels.  While we waited we were given a welcome drink and allowed to get another drink from the bar and the gift shop was also there.  They had a lot of shirts, clothes, bags and of course the 5 different types of Mt Gay Rum that you could buy at cost price and also in the miniature version as well.  There wasn’t a lot of small knick knack stuff with Mt Gay, so at that time I didn’t buy anything and just waited in the garden till the tour started. 

The tour started in a wonderfully air conditioned room where our guide for the tour explained about the history from their vivid and compelling presentation we discovered the rich history of this renowned rum as there were able to view antiquities and replicas from the past, learn of current triumphs and adventures, and be introduced to the Mount Gay portfolio of brands.  Mount Gay Rum is produced by Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd. of Barbados, the easternmost island of the West Indies. The oldest surviving deed for the company is from 1703, making Mount Gay Rum the oldest existing brand of rum in the world.  The current parent company of Mount Gay Distilleries (since 1989) is Rémy Cointreau.  Mount Gay Rum is sold in 80 countries across the world, with 85% of its sales exported to the United States.

Mount Gay Rum has been closely associated with sailing and a popular rum preference among sailors over the many years of its existence. Barbados, the most deeply British of the West Indian cultures, is often the first landfall for ships following the prevailing trade winds from Europe to the Caribbean. Despite Mount Gay being favored by sailors worldwide, the island of Barbados, rather ironically, is not considered to be an ideal cruising area for sailing yachts due to its open exposure to the frequent swells of both the northern and equatorial Atlantic, and to the lack of generally calmer seas or the true natural harbors one finds throughout the rest of the Antilles to the west (i.e. Antigua's English Harbour, or St. Georges in Grenada).

Mount Gay Rum is named for Sir John Gay Alleyne, 1st Baronet of Four Hill. Sir John Gay Alleyne was a trusted friend of John Sober, who inherited the Mount Gilboa Plantation/Distilleries from his father William Sandiford in 1747. Sir John Gay Alleyne agreed to become the manager of the company at John Sober's request. Sir John Gay Alleyne was so effective at leading the company, and earned such a widely-respected reputation internationally as a business manager and community leader, that the company was renamed in his honor after his death in 1801 at the proposal of his longtime friend John Sober, whose estate benefited greatly over the years under Sir John Gay Alleyne's effective management. As there was already a Mount Alleyne in existence on the island of Barbados, the company was renamed Mount Gay Distilleries, incorporating the beloved Sir John Gay Alleyne's middle name.  The little red star on the image of the island on Mount Gay Rum's famous bottle label represents the capital of Barbados, Bridgetown, not the location of the distilleries, which are actually in the northern part of the island. In the Bridgetown area, Mount Gay maintains the Mount Gay Rum Visitors Centre.  The company throughout the 20th century was in the hands of the Ward family in the parish of St. Peter. The Ward family resides in the northernmost parish of St. Lucy, where they have extensive agricultural holdings, and where the best of the sugarcane on the island originates.

The distributors of Mount Gay rum company are today among the main sponsors of the United States Sailing Association.  They also sponsor over 110 regatta events worldwide, with approximately 50 of those based in the United States. Of these the Newport Beach to Ensenada, Mexico race is one of the largest private yacht races in the world. Also, Mount Gay gives away distinctive red hats to top competitors at its sponsored regattas. These hats are prized amongst top sailors and cannot be purchased, anywhere. 

After this we were walked around the factory side to where we would see the factory floor.  This location is actually only the visitor’s center and it is also the location where the rum is blended and then bottled ready to be shipped.  We weren’t permitted to take photos of the factory floor and as it was so hot, our guide have us 10 minutes to observe the floor and then she went through what was happening when we went to the main bar where we were escorted to a Barbadian "rum shop style" theatre to view a 12 minute informative and entertaining audio-visual show on the making of Mount Gay Rum.  We learnt about the whole process from growing and cutting the cane to the final product through their time-honored processes of refining, ageing and blending that makes Mount Gay Rum so uniquely special.  Mount Gay Rum, the finest, oldest brand of rum in existence, has been produced on Barbados with passion and unparalleled excellence since 1703.  The year 1637 witnessed the birth of Barbadian rum distillation, heralded by the arrival of the first small scale distilleries to the island.  By mid-century planters had settled on what would become the Mount Gay plantation, putting stills to use as early as 1667. 1703 marked the appearance of the oldest written evidence of regular distillation on the site.  Only the finest sugar cane, most aromatic molasses and the purest, coral-filtered water are used to receive the extended ageing and artful blending that are the pride and hallmark of Mount Gay.  However, the inimitable quality is achieved not only by the meticulous selection of the finest ingredients, but by the remarkable talent of the generations of master blenders and their passion for the art of blending; a unique craftsmanship conserved and respected since 1703. Mount Gay Rum's current Master Blender Allen Smith ensures that every bottle delivers the superlative appearance, aroma and taste for which Mount Gay has always been known.  What a job huh!  Drinking rum all day.  Well I am sure it isn’t all day, but still what a job.

Once the film had stopped we went back into the bar area and this is where we got to taste 3 of the 5 brands.  The guide was very liberal in her pour of the first drink of the tour, the 43% Eclipse, the second drink of the day.  Not mixed with anything it was so rough, but I’m not a rum drinker at the nest of times as well, but I think any alcohol not mixed, raw is rough.  The second taste test was poured by ourselves, the 43% Extra Old and she said you could knock yourself out with the size of the nips and as this one had been stilled longer and wouldn’t be as rough.  The third and final taste was the 50% proof Eclipse Black.  Man this stuff would knock the socks off…. well I’m not sure but man that stuff was strong and after having 3 large nips within 20 minutes, I felt the effects straight away.  Not rolling drunk, but certainly a little tipsy.  The 5 flavors they still have are:

Mount Gay Rum Eclipse Silver: The Taste of Purity.  The Eclipse Silver is the white rum counterpart to Eclipse Rum. 

Mount Gay Rum Eclipse: The Barbadian Emblem.  In 1910, the twin phenomena of a total solar eclipse and the passage of Halley's Comet inspired the creation of Eclipse. 

Mount Gay Rum Eclipse Black: A Powerhouse of Flavor.  A selection of single distilled rums aged from 2 to 7 years old in charred oak barrels and the addition of a higher proportion of double distilled rums in traditional pot stills, aged up to 7 years that bring exceptional rum character. Released at 100 proof (50% Alc.Vol) in order to enhance the wonderful palette of aromas and the superb intensity of the blend. 

Mount Gay Rum Extra Old: With Age Comes Perfection.  From Mount Gay Rum's precious reserves comes Extra Old, an opulent blend of the finest aged spirits. Slowly matured in Kentucky oak, this artfully crafted rum is the fruit of a unique, centuries-old distillation process. The result is one of the most award-winning rums in the world, a spirit for the most demanding of connoisseurs. 

Mount Gay Rum 1703 Old Cask Selection: The Superlative of Rum.  Born of the golden sugar cane and pristine water of Barbados, 1703 Old Cask Selection is a true symbol of the unique, centuries-old excellence of Mount Gay Rum. Blended entirely from the treasures of Mount Gay's prized reserve, each aged for 10 to 30 years; it is a masterpiece of perfect sumptuousness, deliciously complex nectar created by the oldest producer of refined rum in the world. 

After the tastings we then made our way to the restaurant for our buffet lunch.  We were all allocated a table and you guessed it I had a table for 1.  I was fine with this till I had my 3^rd rum with lunch, making that the 7^th of the day and I knew if I had one more, it would be one too many.  It’s funny how responsible I become drinking when I am on my own.  The lunch was a feast of themed Bajan food washed down with rum, the last one for the day. 

The transfer to take us back to our hotels left at 2.30pm.  I hadn’t quite finished my last drink, so they popped it into a take away cup for me, alcoholic much?  40 minutes later had me **hiccup** dropping me off back to the hotel.  I really wasn’t that drunk, tipsy, but not drunk.  I have heard rum can make people mad or sad and I got the sad gene from my consumption of Mt Gay and had an afternoon in tears.  Thinking about mum, Zeme, everyone back home, being on my own-pouring another drink from the ‘Bernie’ bar.  But I am happy to report after I finished that drink I had an afternoon sleep, woke up feeling okay, but like I had lost my best friend.  Nothing like self -inflicted self- sorrow.  I normally at that point have Marky Mark to talk all this through with and then I launched into fresh tears.  I think it may be time to now move on and out of my own company.  I have 4 more nights on the island and then off to Canada for 2 weeks.  This can’t come fast enough.  I thought about that lady that I met on the plane from Santiago and told myself to snap out of it and I know tomorrow will be a brighter day.