Latest news with #MountGayRum
Vancouver Sun
02-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Where to go for a romantic retreat in beautiful Barbados
Article content Arriving in Barbados we have no need to rush — no need to worry. Checking in at The Crane Residential Resort, our bags are whisked away, and we're welcomed with a tropical rum punch elixir to let time … slow … down. Article content Beyond the limestone walls that surround the heritage-inspired architecture of the courtyard and carp-filled fountain, is a suite of grandeur. Floor-to-ceiling cedar doors reveal hardwood flooring and mahogany furnishings, including a handcrafted four-poster king-sized bed, and then there's the fully equipped kitchen and Jacuzzi in the marble and coral stone bathroom. Wooden shutters open up to our own private pool and patio with a view of the windswept ocean, frothing the cliffs on which we are perched. So this is why people come here … a romantic seclusion in the most historic hotel in the Caribbean. Article content Article content Protected by a coral reef, warm Tiffany-blue waters lather the soft pink sands of the property's cove. Sipping rum with pineapple juice and nutmeg from a freshly cut coconut while sampling today's catch of a meaty grilled, lightly spiced marlin, we're absorbed by the serenity. On this beach, there is no concern about crowds or noise, and we come and go carefree. Going, we weave along cobbled paths through landscaped gardens and cascading pools. Shall we visit the spa? The fitness centre? Play tennis? Or go for a swim? The debate comes to a mellow halt, when all options are trumped by the sweet smell of waffle cones from the village café. Our cool scoop of 'sweet indulgence' is composed of Mount Gay rum, Irish creme, chocolate cake, cheesecake and coffee. Total bliss. Article content Article content Article content Article content While we laze in the water snorkelling, enormous turtles approach along side us. It is incredible to feel them as they swim by. Seduced by the aquatic views we go deeper, for a dive with Roger's Scuba Shack. Lead by the most happily relaxed instructor imaginable, we glide along the sea floor through multiple shipwrecks teaming with cosmically coloured fish and coral. Before the drive back through sugar cane fields to the Crane, we tour the oldest rum distillery in the world, Mount Gay Rum, to taste the island's ubiquitous liquor: warm, smooth, blended notes of banana, vanilla, almond and mocha. Article content Article content Dining at the Crane features the island's top-rated restaurants showcasing the bounty of the sea. Beginning with a 'gospel breakfast' at L'Azure, we forgo a morning coffee in lieu of this uplifting choral serenade. Poolside lunch at The Carriage House, overlooking the bay, we satisfy our craving for local Bajan Flying Fish in salt bread and a crisp salad. With the ambience of a Venetian piazza, D'Onofrio's offers a snack of individually sized, crunchy Barbadian pizza of salmon, black mussels, calamari and shrimp. Dinner on the veranda at L'Azure, directly above the cliffs, the sun sets over the ocean while we share a salad of tamarind glazed snapper with papaya, pineapple salsa, mixed greens and sprouts in a cumin vinaigrette. Succulent Bajan herb infused pork tenderloin with Four Square spice rum reflects an array of Caribbean flavour, while delicately crusted parrotfish topped with plump, spiced shrimp is a delectable showcase of local warm water fish. Article content Article content Article content As the sun dips below the horizon, whistling frogs chime from the bushes ushering in the starry night. Aside from its stunning beauty and elegant design, the warmth of this place is in the subtleties of the hospitality. Live music plays from the saloon-styled Bar 1887, where happy hour seems to know no clock. Here, we have escaped and feel replenished.
Calgary Herald
02-05-2025
- Calgary Herald
Where to go for a romantic retreat in beautiful Barbados
Article content Arriving in Barbados we have no need to rush — no need to worry. Checking in at The Crane Residential Resort, our bags are whisked away, and we're welcomed with a tropical rum punch elixir to let time … slow … down. Article content Beyond the limestone walls that surround the heritage-inspired architecture of the courtyard and carp-filled fountain, is a suite of grandeur. Floor-to-ceiling cedar doors reveal hardwood flooring and mahogany furnishings, including a handcrafted four-poster king-sized bed, and then there's the fully equipped kitchen and Jacuzzi in the marble and coral stone bathroom. Wooden shutters open up to our own private pool and patio with a view of the windswept ocean, frothing the cliffs on which we are perched. So this is why people come here … a romantic seclusion in the most historic hotel in the Caribbean. Article content Article content Article content Protected by a coral reef, warm Tiffany-blue waters lather the soft pink sands of the property's cove. Sipping rum with pineapple juice and nutmeg from a freshly cut coconut while sampling today's catch of a meaty grilled, lightly spiced marlin, we're absorbed by the serenity. On this beach, there is no concern about crowds or noise, and we come and go carefree. Going, we weave along cobbled paths through landscaped gardens and cascading pools. Shall we visit the spa? The fitness centre? Play tennis? Or go for a swim? The debate comes to a mellow halt, when all options are trumped by the sweet smell of waffle cones from the village café. Our cool scoop of 'sweet indulgence' is composed of Mount Gay rum, Irish creme, chocolate cake, cheesecake and coffee. Total bliss. Article content Article content Article content Article content While we laze in the water snorkelling, enormous turtles approach along side us. It is incredible to feel them as they swim by. Seduced by the aquatic views we go deeper, for a dive with Roger's Scuba Shack. Lead by the most happily relaxed instructor imaginable, we glide along the sea floor through multiple shipwrecks teaming with cosmically coloured fish and coral. Before the drive back through sugar cane fields to the Crane, we tour the oldest rum distillery in the world, Mount Gay Rum, to taste the island's ubiquitous liquor: warm, smooth, blended notes of banana, vanilla, almond and mocha. Article content Article content Dining at the Crane features the island's top-rated restaurants showcasing the bounty of the sea. Beginning with a 'gospel breakfast' at L'Azure, we forgo a morning coffee in lieu of this uplifting choral serenade. Poolside lunch at The Carriage House, overlooking the bay, we satisfy our craving for local Bajan Flying Fish in salt bread and a crisp salad. With the ambience of a Venetian piazza, D'Onofrio's offers a snack of individually sized, crunchy Barbadian pizza of salmon, black mussels, calamari and shrimp. Dinner on the veranda at L'Azure, directly above the cliffs, the sun sets over the ocean while we share a salad of tamarind glazed snapper with papaya, pineapple salsa, mixed greens and sprouts in a cumin vinaigrette. Succulent Bajan herb infused pork tenderloin with Four Square spice rum reflects an array of Caribbean flavour, while delicately crusted parrotfish topped with plump, spiced shrimp is a delectable showcase of local warm water fish. Article content Article content Article content As the sun dips below the horizon, whistling frogs chime from the bushes ushering in the starry night. Aside from its stunning beauty and elegant design, the warmth of this place is in the subtleties of the hospitality. Live music plays from the saloon-styled Bar 1887, where happy hour seems to know no clock. Here, we have escaped and feel replenished. Article content
Forbes
21-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
To Make Better Rum, The Focus Of This Sugar Mill Is Molasses
All rum is distilled from sugarcane, and most rum is distilled from molasses, a byproduct of sugar production. Most distilleries, however, have little direct control over how the cane is cultivated and how the molasses is made. The reasons are mostly economic — the land that's needed to grow the cane has become more expensive, and the crop itself has become a money loser for many Caribbean islands. Sugarcane doesn't have a long shelf life, so it must be processed soon after harvesting. That means distilleries also outsource the production of molasses, either to domestic plants or, often, to other countries, including Brazil and the Dominican Republic. Molasses can be an afterthought at the sugar mills that produce it, and that can affect the quality of the rum from which it's made. Barbados-based Mount Gay is looking to change that narrative. With its Single Estate rum series, which launched in 2023, the brand is now making rum from cane grown on its own estate, in Mount Gay's own sugar mill — which means the focus is on making quality molasses rather than quality cane sugar. In some ways, it's a return to the way things were done in Barbados in the 18th century (Mount Gay has been making rum since 1703), where estates grew and processed their own cane on their own land, though the goals of production have changed. The idea of terroir in molasses may seem far-fetched to some. But I've tasted molasses from the Mount Gay Estate alongside samples from elsewhere in the Caribbean and even elsewhere in Barbados, and there really is a difference. That distinctive flavor transfers to the rum, as well — Single Estate is clearly a member of the extended Mount Gay family, but its richness, depth and complexity still stand out from the rest of the line. Alas, Mount Gay doesn't grow enough cane to use in all its rums, and Single Estate is still limited to a few thousand bottles per year. But it's a pretty cool start. Mount Gay Rum master blender Trudiann Branker Photo courtesy Mount Gay/Remy Cointreau Trudiann Branker, Mount Gay's master blender, has been a part of the Single Estate project since its parent company, Remy Cointreau, reacquired the plantation on which cane had been grown in 2014 (it had been sold off in the 1970s). Below, she answers a lot of my questions about what the heck they're doing in St. Lucy, where the plantation, sugar mill and distillery are located. TS: What are the differences between a mill that processes sugarcane and one that processes molasses? TB: At Mount Gay, we chose to build our own mill so we could process our Estate sugarcane specifically for molasses production and have full control over the extraction process. In a typical sugarcane mill, the main goal is to produce sugar, with molasses as the byproduct. For us, it's the opposite—molasses is the end goal, and sugar is the byproduct. This approach lets us produce high-quality Grade A molasses, whereas most sugar mills produce Grade C, or blackstrap molasses. By prioritizing molasses, we can ensure the quality is of highest standard for rum-making. TS: How does the terroir one gets from cane juice survive the processing that turns it into molasses? TB: Not only does it survive, it thrives, and we don't only believe it, we can actually show it and taste it. By controlling our milling process and focusing on extracting molasses from our own estate sugarcane, we can fine-tune the process to maintain the characteristics of our terroir. Unlike the typical lower-grade molasses, our Grade A molasses really captures those unique, terroir-driven flavors and scope of aromas found through every stage of rum creation. TS: What characteristics do you look for in molasses? TB: We're looking for molasses with a higher sugar content, which benefits the fermentation stage, but we also want molasses that expresses the unique characteristics of our terroir. Our molasses carry more grassy, fresh, and floral notes. You can really tell the difference when comparing our Estate-produced molasses to imported molasses from the Caribbean or even other Barbadian molasses. The flavors reflect the terroir of the Mount Gay Estate and make for a special rum with more distinctive character. TS: What was the process of figuring out which types of cane to grow in order to get the best molasses? TB: Diversity on the Estate has always been important, and it's a long-standing practice for sugarcane estates to grow a variety of cultivars. This approach helps guard against crop loss from disease and lets us explore different flavours and aromas from each type. We're still early in the process, but we can already see differences in the molasses coming from various cultivars. The ability to produce Grade A molasses gives us an opportunity to highlight flavours we wouldn't typically find in imported molasses or the more common Grade C blackstrap. Part of the Mount Gay estate, where sugarcane is again being grown and milled after a decades-long hiatus. Photo courtesy Mount Gay/Remy Cointreau TS: Are the varietals of sugarcane grown on the Mount Gay estate native to Barbados? And are they the same varietals that would have been grown there 300 years ago? TB: There is a constant breeding and selection process that takes place annually, that has resulted in adaptable, disease resistant and higher yielding varieties according to local industry needs. On island, you may now find varieties in commercial production that were bred in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and one from the 00's. It is advisable that an estate plants no more than 25% of its acreage in any one variety, so that in the event of a major disease or occurrence that is variety specific, the producer will have other varieties to fall back upon and safeguard at least a portion of his/ her harvest. Another point to note, is that 300 years ago, planting and harvesting methods were vastly different, relying primarily on manual labor. The sugar cane would have been softer at this time. With the introduction of mechanical harvesters to Barbados in the late 60's and early 70's, the sugar cane was bred to be more "robust" to withstand the power of the harvesters. All varieties grown at the Mount Gay estate were bred in Barbados at the West Indies Central Sugar Cane Breeding Station (WICSCBS) located at Groves, St. George. The WICSCBS is one of the two oldest (Java being the other one) sugar cane breeding institutions in the world, with a continuous breeding program since the rediscovery of seedlings in Barbados in 1888. After the breeding process, new sugar cane varieties are sent to the Agronomy Research Department, also located at Groves, St. George. This department's research is primarily aimed at varietal evaluation and selection according to industry needs, a process that can take up to 13 years for one cycle to be completed, and a new sugar cane variety released. TS: How different is Single Estate from, say, Mount Gay XO, from your vantage point? TB: The Single Estate Series is the perfect illustration of Mount Gay's terroir. The molasses used for Single Estate Series comes exclusively from our Estate, and it's distilled entirely in pot stills and aged in ex-Bourbon barrels. This approach lets us highlight the unique taste of our land, and you can really notice the differences between the 2023 and 2024 edition, like you would with a wine from a specific vineyard, from a vintage to another. Mount Gay's XO, on the other hand, is all about the art of blending. It's made from a mix of imported and Barbadian molasses, distilled in both column stills and small pot stills, and matured in various types of barrels—ex-Bourbon, ex-American whiskey, and ex-Cognac. It's about creating a rich, balanced profile that consistently expresses the Mount Gay house style, batch after batch. Since sugar is the byproduct for Mount Gay, what do you do with it? We sell [it] to local Barbados sugar producers to support the traditional sugar industry here. We also like to use some of it in cocktail recipes at the Mount Gay bar in Barbados, like in our Black Barrel Old Fashioned!
