TBRC Mount Gay Secret Distillery #7

That Boutique-y Rum Company, the honest no-additives label curated under Atom Brands, bottled this twenty one year old from a Barbados distillery identified only as Secret Distillery number seven, widely taken to be Mount Gay. It sits in the island's pot-and-column tradition, oak-aged and unsweetened, though this cask wears its age in an austere rather than dessert-like way.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak and bottled at cask strength, it leans woody and aromatic, with intense mint and anise on the nose and a fresh, oily, earthy palate built on dry oak rather than the usual Bajan banana and toffee. The finish carries tannins, a savoury olive note and a flick of salt. At 52.6% it is firm and characterful, a Barbados rum that rewards drinkers who like their oak dry and their fruit restrained.