Rihanna, flying fish, Bajan hot sauce, amazing beaches, sugar plantations and Mount Gay Rum. This is what we knew about Barbados when we went for one of my New Year’s birthdays. One side of this island is serene surf; the other is wild with shards of coral reef whipping around your legs when you try to swim. We opted for casual local places to eat simply prepared flying fish that we doused in addictive Bajan hot sauce. And we drank a lot of Mount Gay Rum…a whole lot!

Barbados: birthplace of rum and Rihanna

Barbados: birthplace of rum and Rihanna

October 5th we visited with Allen Smith on The Connected Table Live. In addition to being the Master Blender for Mount Gay Rum, Allen is an “Ambassador” for the island of Barbados. So, he really blends the old with the new.

Mount Gay's Master Blender Allen Smith originally studied biology.

Mount Gay’s Master Blender Allen Smith originally studied biology.

Mount Gay, named after its first distiller, the business man, Sir John Gay, claims to be the world’s oldest rum, made in Barbados since 1703 where there is an abundance of sugar cane. To be more specific: Barbados is considered to be the birthplace of rum. The spirit was originally called “Kill-Devil” by the Barbadians who first distilled it. Allen will discuss the history of Mount Gay, his work as Master Blender and the “Mount Gay style.” And he’ll share more reasons to visit Barbados.

Our research

Our research

We tasted both the copper pot distilled  (robust with spiced nut notes) and copper column distilled (light bodied and with spiced fruit notes). We tasted the newest blend, Mount Gay Black Barrel, with our first pumpkin pie of the season. We all had seconds of both, and then just the rum.

Nice new packaging for Mount Gay's Copper Pot Stilled and Copper Column Stilled Rums.

Nice new packaging for Mount Gay’s Copper

Pot Stilled and Copper Column Stilled Rums.

Listen to our show with Allen Smith here: