Mount Gay Rum

Rum

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...

 is produced by Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd. of Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

, 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

Rémy Cointreau

Rémy Cointreau is a French alcohol manufacturer that produces cognac, liqueurs, spirits and champagne. The company is a result of a 1990-1991 merger between Rémy Martin and Cointreau.- Brands :...

.

Mount Gay Rum is sold in 66 countries across the world, its primary export market being the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

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

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

 cultures, is often the first landfall for ships following the prevailing trade winds and Gulf Stream

Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...

 currents from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 to the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. Despite Mount Gay being favoured 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 equator

Equator

An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....

ial Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

, 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 Alleyne, 1st Baronet

Sir John Gay Alleyne, 1st Baronet was a baronet and Barbadian politician.-Background:Alleyne descended from the first settlers on Barbados and was born at St James as second son of John Alleyne and his wife Mary Terrill, daughter of William Terrill...

. 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 honour after his passing 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. In 1757, Sir John Gay Alleyne was elected to the Parliament of Barbados

Parliament of Barbados

The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. The Parliament is bicameral in composition and is formally made up of: HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados The Parliament of Barbados is the...

, for the Parish of St. Andrew, a seat he held for the next forty years, with only a break in 1771.[3] He became Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

 of the Barbados House of Assembly

Barbados House of Assembly

The House of Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament , MPs are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority system for a term of five years....

 in 1767, serving until 1770 and after another two years was reappointed until 1779.[4] Alleyne was named a Baronet

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

 of Four Hills on 6 April 1769.[5] According to Hilary Beckles, historian and principal of the University of the West Indies

University of the West Indies

The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...

 - Cave Hill Campus, Sir John Gay Alleyne was a popular leader among the planter elite

Plantocracy

A plantocracy, also known as a slavocracy, is a ruling class, political order or government composed of plantation owners....

 and a great philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

. He was also one of the most influential voices of his time to speak out against the institution of slavery

Atlantic slave trade

The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...

. On April 29, 2010, while speaking at the Founder's Day service for the Alleyne School, which was founded by Sir John Gay, alumnus and guest speaker Monsignor Vincent Blackett stated that Sir John Gay Alleyne should certainly be named one of Barbados’ National Heroes

Barbadian national heroes

Barbadian National Heroes are the designees of the Order of National Heroes Act, as passed by the Parliament of Barbados in 1998. The act formally recognized the stature of ten major figures in the history of Barbados....

.
The little red star on the image of the island on Mount Gay Rum's famous bottle label represents the capital of Barbados, Bridgetown

Bridgetown

The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...

, 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 on the Spring Garden Highway in Brandons, Saint Michael, Barbados.

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.

Sailing traditions

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

Regatta

A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...

 events worldwide, with approximately 50 of those based in the United States. Of these the Newport Beach to Ensenada

Ensenada, Baja California

Ensenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 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.

In 2010, Mount Gay launched the Sailing Spoken Here website (www.sailingspokenhere.com), a Social Networking site aimed at the sailing community.

Varieties

Several varieties of Mount Gay Rum are produced, including: White, Extra Old, flavored (both mango and vanilla flavors are produced), as well as the flagship brand: Mount Gay Eclipse."

Mount Gay also produces a "Pure Sugar Cane Rum", occasionally known outside of the U.S. market as "Sugar Cane Brandy".

• Mount Gay Sugar Cane Brandy (Discontinued)
• Mount Gay Silver Eclipse
• Mount Gay Eclipse Black
• Mount Gay Eclipse
• Mount Gay Special Reserve
• Mount Gay Extra Old
• Mount Gay 1703
• Mount Gay Flavored Rums

Available in vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...

 and mango

Mango

The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...

In mixes

Mount Gay is also one of the key ingredients in Stirling Punch

Stirling Punch

Stirling Punch is an alcoholic punch made from grain alcohol, Mount Gay Rum and a dash of whiskey.The drink was named after Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, a famous yachtsman who won the America's Cup three times in a row in the 1930s...

, a drink named for famous yachtsman, America's Cup

America's Cup

The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...

 winner and Vanderbilt Sailing Club

Vanderbilt Sailing Club

The Vanderbilt University Sailing Club was founded in 1962 with an initial grant from Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, then the chairman of the University's Board of Trust...

 founder Harold Stirling Vanderbilt

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, a champion bridge player and a member of the Vanderbilt family.-Background:...

.

Perceptions

Mount Gay Eclipse rum has a very distinctive flavor. There are other rums made on the island, but they are only made in very small batches, and are never seen anywhere outside of Barbados.

Notable Spirit ratings

Spirit ratings

With a growing number of microdistilleries and an expanding number of offerings from large corporate entities, a number of institutions have arisen to provide professional evaluations of individual spirits...

 for Mount Gay rums include scores of: 95 ("Exceptional") for its Extra Old offering at the Beverage Tasting Institute's 2008 Competition and a Gold rating for Eclipse Gold at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.)

Quite notably, the first drink Daniel Craig

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 orders in Casino Royale

Casino Royale (2006 film)

Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...

 (2006) is not his trademark martini but a Mount Gay Rum with soda. Author Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming

Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...

 was a well known rum drinker who had a home on the island of Jamaica (Appleton Estate

Appleton Estate

Appleton Estate is a sugar estate and distillery in Jamaica that has been handcrafting rums since 1749. They produce a wide variety of aged rums, as well as standard gold and white rums. Located in the heart of the country's sugar cane belt, it is the oldest sugar estate and distillery in Jamaica...

was his preferred Jamaican rum).

External links

• Mount Gay Rum: Homepage
• France based -- Remy Cointreau - Current owners of Mount Gay