Mount Gay was founded in 1703, making it the oldest rum producer in the world. John Sober inherited a small distillery at the top of Mount Gilboa, in the parish of Saint Lucy, Barbados. In 1947, he put Sir John Gay Alleyne in charge of the distillery. Sober was so impressed by Sir John’s work that he renamed the distillery after him in 1801. The estate was then taken over by Aubrey Fitz-Osbert Ward in 1918 and remained in the family until his son’s death in 1989. The French group Rémy Cointreau became the majority shareholder and bought the remain shares from Ward’s heirs in 2014. The rums produced are normally a combination of spirit distilled in column and pot stills, but the brand is also known for its single pot stills and triple distillations.

A blend of three casks (French brandy casks) of Mount Gilboa 9 year old distilled in 2008 and bottled in 2017 to mark Velier’’s 70th anniversary. The rum is triple distilled in a pot still. The Mount Gilboa brand was introduced in 2006 and is named after the plantation’’s original name. The label was designed by Singapore artist Warren Khong. Velier was founded in Genoa by Casimir Chaix in 1947. It was originally a small, family-run business specializing in the import and distribution of wine and spirits. Luca Gargano, a former representative for Saint James and serious rum collector and enthusiast, bought the business in 1986 and began bottling whisky first in 1992 and then rum in 1996. Rums selected by Velier are only ever aged in a tropical climate, which explains both their concentration and the high angels’’ share. They are generally bottled at cask strength or just below. The company’’s selections from Diamond’’s vaults as well as the Caroni bottlings and the bottlings from various distilleries in Jamaica, Barbados and other countries have played a key role in rum’’s history and are today some of the most sought-after in the category.