Published on Foodepedia on 5th August 2010:

I’m drawn to new things like a magpie to shiny objects so how could I resist the opportunity to attend the launch of a very exclusive rum? Especially when there’s the opportunity to taste a bottle of £125 rum?

Monday night saw the launch of the Mount Gay 1703 into the UK at the rather swish No. 5 Cavendish Square. Of course you’ve probably heard of Mount Gay rum before, and why should you not have? Mount Gay’s reputation precedes it, by over three hundred years in fact. They say that it is the oldest brand of rum in existence.

Mount Gay Rum has been around the UK in various award winning guises from the Eclipse to the Extra Old. Now the 1703, a blend of rum aged between 10 to 30 years, has arrived and it is deliciously smooth with an intoxicating aroma. In fact, it smells so good, it’s almost a shame to drink it.

Drinking Eclipse based cocktails and eating canapes aside, there was the opportunity to mingle with the top bar owners and distributors in London town. All in all, it was a jolly good shindig, but perhaps a bit tame by Caribbean standards.

To find out more about Mount Gay Rum, go to www.mountgayrum.com