Mount Gay Bajan Spiced Rum 70cl

Most spiced rum reaches for vanilla and cinnamon and calls it a day. Mount Gay's master blender Trudiann Branker built this one around red grapefruit — the variety that originated in Barbados — which makes it one of the more distinctive things in the category.

It comes from Mount Gay in Barbados, a distillery with three centuries of rum-making behind it, so the base is no afterthought: unaged copper pot and column-distilled rum, spiced with locally distilled Barbados ginger, orange and cinnamon, then rounded off with a little estate-grown sugar. Bottled at 35% ABV, it is built for mixing rather than sipping.

The nose is sweet and zesty — orange, a fruity floral lift and a subtle note of cinnamon. On the palate, grapefruit and allspice take the lead, backed by fresh cane juice and a fruity depth that keeps it from tipping into cloying. It is bright and citrus-driven where most spiced rums go heavy and dark.

At under £25 this is honest value and knows exactly what it is: a mixing rum with a genuine point of difference. Do not expect a sipper — expect a long drink with more character than the big supermarket names.

How to Serve

Over ice, long, with ginger beer and a wedge of grapefruit — the house “Spiced 'n' Stormy”. It works with cola too, but the grapefruit route plays to its strengths.

Where to Drink It

Satan's Whiskers in Bethnal Green for a rum highball with imagination. Swift in Soho for a well-built long drink. Artesian at The Langham if you want the polished version.

Food Pairings

Pour it alongside jerk chicken — the citrus and ginger cut through the spice and char beautifully. Grilled prawns with lime do a similar job.