Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward 2009

Last Ward 2009 is a Mount Gay pot still rum bottled under Habitation Velier, the line Luca Gargano built to showcase Pure Single Rum, meaning pot still spirit from a single distillery with no additives, no colouring and no added sugar, at high or full proof. Naming the rum Last Ward nods to the Ward family's long role at Mount Gay, the Barbados house that claims the title of the world's oldest commercial rum distillery.

Distilled in 2009 and tropically aged nine years, this is the drier, more muscular side of Barbados rather than the gentle Eclipse style. The base is molasses, matured in ex-bourbon oak where the island heat drives firm extraction. It shows dried fruit, vanilla, spice and herbs on the nose, then more vanilla, wood and spice on a dry palate, finishing woody, herbal and slightly bitter. At 59% it has genuine punch and pot still weight, a logical next step for anyone who enjoys dry Barbados rum and wants more intensity and depth.