Mount Gay Black Barrel

The clue is in the name. Mount Gay take rum that has already spent its years in oak and give it a second, shorter stay in barrels charred hard enough to look black inside — and that finishing step is what you taste.

Mount Gay have been distilling in Barbados since 1703, which makes them about as old as the category gets. What is easy to miss is how light the base spirit actually is. Barbadian rum, made across pot and column stills, tends towards clean orchard-and-banana fruit rather than the heavy funk of Jamaica. Black Barrel takes that delicate spirit and gives it something to push against.

The nose goes straight for caramel, with vanilla behind it and ripe banana underneath. Give it a minute and you get toasted oak, a little clove and cracked black pepper. The palate is where the char earns its keep: sweet at the front, then a dry, smoky, almost bitter-cocoa turn through the middle, closing warm and peppery. At 43% it has enough grip to hold its shape in a cocktail without disappearing.

This is the rum I reach for when a Daiquiri needs more backbone, and it drinks perfectly well neat if you are in that mood.

How to Serve

Neat in a tulip glass, or over one big cube. It makes an excellent Old Fashioned — the char does the work usually asked of bitters. Skip the cola; you will bury it.

Where to Drink It

Trailer Happiness in Notting Hill, for people who take rum seriously without the ceremony. Artesian at The Langham if you want the drink built properly. Boisdale for a late one.

Food Pairings

Salt cod fritters, if you can find them. Otherwise a plate of jerk-spiced pork or some good charcuterie — the smoke in the glass wants smoke on the plate.