Mount Gay Eclipse Navy Strength Barbados Rum. I don’t spend as much time reading about Rum as I used to. Two young children have partly seen to that! Due to this I was under the mis-conception that this new release from Mount Gay was only available in Barbados!

I’m not quite sure why really maybe because it is noted as “Limited Edition”? Also, from what little rum viewing I was able to do on the Internet over the past few months I only really saw people returning from Barbados showing off this rum. A couple of weeks ago I noticed, however that a number of people in my Facebook group “The UK Rum Club” were posting and talking about this rum……

Had I known on release that this was widely available in the UK and priced at around £35 a review would have been published a lot earlier!

Anyway, never mind I have now procured a bottle via Amazon (£34.25 with next Day Prime Delivery) so I will share my findings. Long term readers of the site will perhaps be aware of my feelings around Mount Gay Eclipse. One of very few rums I have re-reviewed. In short, my opinion is that it is a bit “meh”. It’s okay when its on offer
but other than that it is often way down my list of choices. Even when I am choosing a rum in the Supermarket – I can find better alternatives – Woods 100, Appleton Signature and even (moving over to the dark side) Jim Beam White Label to use as a weekend mixer.

Mount Gay Eclipse Navy Strength Barbados Rum is a different blend to the standard or “Heritage” blend Eclipse. The Heritage Blend Eclipse is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rums aged up to 2 years. This Navy Strength offering is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rums with a higher percentage of Pot Still Rum in the blend. It is also a blend of rums aged between 2-4 years.

In keeping with the Navy Strength moniker the rum has been bottled at 57.1% ABV. I won’t go into the historical aspects of Navy Strength and the discussion over what was originally a “true” Navy Strength. Needless to say this rum is a fair bit stronger than the original Eclipse!

As well as learning this “Limited Edition” was so widely available I was also very pleasantly surprised at the price point of this rum. £35 for a 57.1% ABV rum in the UK represents really good value, in relation to the amount of Tax and Duty imposed on higher proof products. Taking into account Mount Gay’s recent pricing “model” of their more limited releases I would have expect this to come in at least around £60.

Mount Gay did previously have a 100 proof/50% ABV Eclipse Black which they fazed out a few years ago. I did obtain a sample of this a few years ago but unfortunately an accident meant I lost a few samples when a shelf fell down……so I never got to try it and review it. So I’ll make sure I get this reviewed now………

In the glass Mount Gay Eclipse Navy Strength Barbados Rum is a classic light golden brown colour. Maybe a shade darker than the standard strength.

One of my sticking points with the standard Mount Gay Eclipse was the heavy hit of “alcohol”. Particularly on the nose. It was very “boozy”. That unsurprisingly is present in this offering as well. I wouldn’t say it smells 17% more boozy though.

It’s still an issue for me as it rather overwhelms the other aromas. It takes a long time in the glass for the bourbon esque aromas of vanilla and light oak to come through. There is also a bit of coconut and banana.

Unfortunately the overriding aromas of alcohol make this rather underwhelming and it doesn’t feel very well balanced.

Sipped at the full ABV this isn’t something that I would consider a sipper. Its just too harsh and has a slight metallic edge to it. It tastes a little cheap to be honest. Reducing it down to a more manageable ABV doesn’t really work for me either. I’m just left with standard Eclipse. Have I mentioned I’m not a huge fan of that rum?

Joking aside I’m not overly disappointed with this as I wasn’t expecting anything fantastic. I would have liked to have been pleasantly surprised…..but I’m not so far.

So how does it perform in mixed drinks? In all honesty I’d likely to struggle to really tell it apart from the standard Eclipse. Its much the same and although it has a higher ABV it was the rough boozy note of the standard Eclipse which I felt overshadowed the better aspects of Mount Gay’s rum making. This has perhaps an extra edge of bitterness in the after taste.

It’s not for me I’m afraid. Very unlikely I will be buying another bottle. If you like Eclipse then by all means give it a go…..