Overview
Brand: Mount Gay, Origin series
Origin: Mount Gay, St. Lucy, Barbados
Still: Pot
Age: NAS
Finish: ex-Bourbon
ABV: 43%
Hot on the heels of its sibling bottle, we are taking a look at the other rum in volume 1 of Mount Gay's Origin Series: Charred Cask. Whereas the Virgin Cask was a lightly toasted French Oak cask that hadn't been used before, the cask that this rum was aged in perviously contained bourbon, and has been heavily charred.
As the booklet in the gift box points out, charring casks may yield notes of caramel and vanilla, have a more smokier character, and a more rounded, possibly mellow experience. Mount Gay's Black Barrel expression is well-known for using rum aged in heavily charred casks in its pot and column blend.
The Origin Series Charred Cask itself is a pot still distillate that was finished in a heavily charred ex-bourbon cask. The rum was proofed to 43% ABV before bottling.
Appearance
Orange-gold, high clarity, medium-low viscosity
Nose
Caramel, vanilla, dough, saltwater, carmelized cinnamon sugar, muddled cherry, orange peel
Palate
Caramel, light smoke, dough, cinnamon, vanilla, flamed orange peel, muscovado sugar
Finish
Medium-long, smokey, complex; oak, carmelized sugar, orange peel, muscovado sugar, cinnamon, cherry
Rating: 7/10
Summary
The Charred Cask is pretty big and bold, offering the power of the whiskey-seasoned cask while still allowing Mount Gay's rummy notes to shine through.
I would say I enjoy this a bit more than the Virgin Cask, as its profile seems a little more intentional and pronounced. It's quite complex given that as I understand it the rum wasn't aged in the cask for very long; caramel, vanilla, dough, cinnamon-sugar, orange, and cherry pop up in various forms throughout the experience.
Again, this was a great experiment and helps me appreciate Mount Gay's rums that much more. I'm curious how much the heavy char-matured rum is used in Black Barrel, as this seems much more complex and robust than that regular release. If you find yourself with the ability to purchase the Origin Series, I'd highly recommend you do so.