Barbados rum producer Mount Gay has released The PX Sherry Cask Expression, the sixth limited edition in the Master Blender Collection series.
The limited-edition series debuted in 2018 with the release of XO: The Peat Smoke Expression, created by former Master Blender Allen Smith. In 2019, when Master Blender Trudiann Branker took over, she released the expressions Pot Still Rum, The Port Cask Expression, Andean Oak Cask and The Madeira Cask Expression.
For this year’s release, Branker looked to Southern Spain where Pedro Ximenez Sherry is made from grapes dried in the sun and then aged to make the fortified wine.
This expression was crafted with pot and column still rums that have been aged in ex-American whiskey casks for a minimum of 20 years in the tropical climate of Barbados. The rums were then finished for an additional year in Pedro Ximenez Sherry wine casks.
Trudiann worked with the Mount Gay R&D team to explore some of the company’s oldest rums, searching for those suitable to finishing in PX Sherry wine casks.
The result is a nose of maraschino cherry, stewed fruits, charred oak and butterscotch, the company reports. The palate brings red fruits, salted caramel, banana, toasted vanilla and velvety oak.
“I was inspired by the process behind PX Sherry, and I wanted to discover how a well matured rum would interact with the richness of the casks used to age these fortified wines,” says Branker. “Going through some of our oldest rums to find the right ones was an incredible journey, tasting rums that have been placed in our bonds two decades ago. I was thrilled to find 20-year-old rums that stood up in terms of body and character to benefit from being finished in PX Sherry casks, and I’m honored to add this to our Master Blender Collection.”
The Master Blender Collection: The PX Sherry Cask Expression comes bottled at 45% ABV and is non-chill filtered. This expression is limited to 4,200 bottles, and will be available at retailers for a suggested retail price of $270 per 700-ml. bottle.
