Mount Gay Eclipse Rum Barbados Rum 750 ML Every great story begins with a time and a place. For Mount Gay Rum that time and place is the Caribbean Island of Barbados in 1703. Rum, originally called Kill-Devil by the Barbadians who first distilled it, is truly a product of the island. The abundance of molasses combined with the culinary ingenuity of early settlers and, of course, their legendary thirst for alcohol lead to this unique discovery in the production of spirits. Sir John Gay was a respected leader and businessman who worked tirelessly in service of the island of Barbados. A friend of Sir John Gays, the contrarily named John Sober, inherited a then-unknown distillery and had asked for Sir Johns help in managing it. Sir John Gay took quickly to the business of making rum. He refined the distillation process and began producing a noticeably superior product that we know today as Mount Gay Rum.Barbados is an island of warm, friendly people, exciting culture and, in the interest of making rum, a great wealth of natural resources. Originally discovered by the Portuguese, Barbados which means bearded ones, was the name given to the island to describe the lush, bearded trees that grew in abundance. Later settlers to the island found the rich soil and favorable wet season ideal for growing sugar cane. Mount Gay Rum is the product of over 300 years of knowledge, experience and refinement applied to the process of making rum. Each of our rums complex flavours have been coaxed from natural Barbadian ingredients and the input of many generations of master blenders, distillers and the evolving palates of rum shop patrons. The island of Barbados is formed of coral limestone, a porous stone which acts as a natural filter for the groundwater deep beneath the island. This water is subsequently filtered three more times, resulting in some of the purest water available. Barbadian sugar is among the finest in the world, yielding exceptional molasses. In the 18th century, Barbadian molasses had come to be called Black Gold because of the additional revenue it provided after the process of refining crystallised sugar from sugar cane. The art of fermentation truly begins when molasses and coral filtered water are combined with a proprietary strain of yeast, selected exclusively for Mount Gay Rums. Since opening the doors of the first still house, this process has been conducted in the open air of Barbados. Over three hundred years, the distinct bold character of Mount Gay Rum has been developed in traditional double copper pot stills. An innovative distillation technique in 1703, this process has been in continuous use by Mount Gay ever since. In tropical Caribbean climates, the process of ageing is unpredictable. One year could mature a rum as much as three years or as few as six months. For Mount Gay the focus is on maturation over ageing. Today, Mount Gay Rums are matured in charred white oak barrels, barrels which previously held American whiskey. Blending has become a true craft. It is this alchemical merging of controlled practices and skilled intuition that has guided master blenders for years. Allen Smith holds sway over the craft of blending at Mount Gay Distilleries. An individual batch of Mount Gay Rum contains dozens of different distillates, single and double