Black Tot Finest Caribbean

This is by no means a new release so, in true RumLondon style, I’m late to the party. Soz. Again, other reviews are available (and likely more helpful).

Still, we persist.

The story behind Black Tot merits a bit of space.

Mount Gay: The Port Cask Expression

One from a favourite distillery of mine this time – Mount Gay. Barbados really does punch hard when it comes to it’s rum producers and this is a beauty. It’s also the oldest surviving rum distillery in the world, with a deed showing its presence, way back on 20th February 1703!

A swift(ish) history lesson. The distillery and fields were purchased from the Sandiford family in 1747 by John Sober for the sum of £6,000…that’s just over £1.4m in today’s money!
Called ‘Mount Gilboa,’ the sugar plantation comprised 280 acres of land in St Peter & St Lucy, the 2 northernmost parishes in Barbados and the same location as today’s distillery, although the sugarcane I believe is now imported.

VS Distillers – J Gow: Fading Light

I must admit I’d not heard of this distillery prior to the excellent Scottish Rum Festival that occurred a week or so ago. Scottish rum seems to be very much a rapidly expanding industry and my eyes were opened to several products that I’d like to try, including Ninefold and Matugga. After hearing about this aged chestnut cask bottle though I decided to start here, with Fading Light from J. Gow.

The distillery is owned by VS Distillers and is based in Orkney, 10 miles to the north of Scotland, an archipelago of 20 inhabited islands and 70 uninhabited with a total population of around 22,000, half of whom live in the capital – Kirkwall. Although connected to Mainland Orkney by a causeway, the distillery itself is on the uninhabited island of Lamb Holm, a mere 0.15 miles in diameter!