Mount Gay Mount Gilboa Triple Distilled

Mount Gilboa is the historic name behind Mount Gay, the Barbados distillery that markets itself as the world's oldest with a deed dated 1703. This bottling is unusual in being entirely triple-distilled pot still rather than the island's typical pot-and-column blend, bottled at a sessionable 40 percent and unsweetened.

The nose carries fruit, allspice, vanilla and oak, and the palate keeps that fruity lead with caramel and vanilla over light wood. Despite its modest age and strength, tasters find it rich and full rather than thin or watery, the triple pot still distillation lending a rounded body. Distilled from molasses and matured in oak, it is dry and additive-free in the authentic Barbados tradition. A characterful, gently priced way into Mount Gay's heritage, this is a soft, approachable Bajan that drinks well above its proof and rewards an unhurried glass.