Anyone with a smattering of brain cells remaining is well aware that of the commercial sites, the cheerleading, "...it's all good" Preacher has a long track record of promoting almost any and all rum. The Preacher made much of his position that "...the best rum is the one in my glass".
Over these years the notion that rums are simply additive laden and colored creations of the marketing department got more than one poster "liberated" by the Prophet, not least this writer.
Has the Preacher really found God - and truth - at long last?
In a recent post a newish beta monkey asked an interesting question regarding Mount Gay's newish Black Barrel:
A fair question. Another more seasoned beta - who no doubt follows The Project - correctly answered ..."I've recently been enjoying Mount Gay's special small batch offering, Black Barrel. Nice stuff! But its "claim to fame", that "wow" factor that makes it so "special", appears to be that it is aged (or at least finished) in charred oak ex-bourbon barrels. And that leaves me with a nagging question...
Uh, aren't nearly ALL aged rums (at least non-agricole rums) matured in used bourbon barrels?"
We have a winner!"It's the char. The bourbon barrels rum is generally finished in are not re-charred... They are charred when the bourbon is placed in them, but not again prior to placing the rum in them... What I've read is that the Black Barrel rum is also placed in "heavily (re) charred" barrels. "
Mount Gay (and Barbados for that matter) are widely respected for their expertise in distilling and aging top quality rums. Unfortunately the massive subsidies to the USVI has caused them to alter their blends to use younger make. The whole idea of recharring (to what is called an "alligator char") is to create cracks and to expose the wood below. This is a clever way to expose a rum to new wood below, thus picking up wood flavors quickly, and while the charcoal also acts to provide a smoothing effect. And done so economically using existing barrels.
Although nothing can replace longer aging, this stop gap though not entirely successful, does work to a reasonable extent. This is actually a fairly revolutionary notion: to upgrade a younger rum by exposing wood in older barrels - and to do so economically AND effectively. This has to be done with skill to avoid picking up too much flavor, too fast. But Mount Gay has done it right, kudos to them.
The result: an improved and smoother NAS rum with notable added flavor at minimal additional cost. Nice. And necessary. Now while nearly everyone might assume that someone like moi might speak out based on the loss of traditional longer aging deserving real and honest age statements, the last place you'd expect criticism from would be...
At the Shillery and by the Preacher...
Oh No Mr. Ed, er Bill! It simply cannot be. The "...it's all good" Preacher criticizing rum in general and generally revered Mount Gay specifically?! Yup, the Prophet felt driven to butt in with this amazing pronouncement:
In sum the Preacher seems to imply that Mount Gay's creative technique is simply marketing and that "coloring" has more effect on the rum. WTF! Is this the same Preacher who has spent years cheerleading for rum? Is it the same messenger from the heavens who once praised and attributed Zacapa's flavors and sweetness to - yup - recharring? Isn't this hypocritical?"Almost every rum is aged in used whisky, and more recently bourbon, barrels. I think you'll find the biggest differences are the marketing behind these various rums and the coloring which (have) much more effect on the spirit than most marketers or distillers will admit. "
You decide.
And if you do in the affirmative, it is then fair to ask just why the Anointed One has engaged in what many will consider a personal sacrilege and a near total turnaround? Could it have anything to do with his recent bottlings and mini-release of Jamaican "Black" and St. Lucian bulk rums? Does he hope to now imply that Mount Gay and others' rums are simply marketing and coloring while his own labels are somehow different and exempt? What's the point? Only time will tell.
It was not so long ago that Hamilton proposed bottlings on the basis of "no added flavor or color", labels that would say so, and accompanied by the unprecedented release of truly complete information on the rum's production and aging.
But so far...
