Can you feel the heat on your face?  This episode we want to transport you right to the sunny island of Barbados. Anyone’s guess which rum we’ll be exploring??

If you haven’t guessed already, it’s Mount Gay, not only the oldest rum in Barbados, but the oldest rum in the world!!  I’m thrilled that Trudiann Branker, the trailblazing Master Blender, is joining us.

Starting at the distillery in 2014 as Quality Assurance Manager, Trudiann rose to prominence with her unique ability to merge scientific expertise and creative intuition. 

Under her guidance, Mount Gay has unveiled award-winning innovations like the Master Blender Collection and the Single Estate Series!  

We met at the launch of the Single Estate Series 2, and I couldn’t wait to have her on the show! Single Estate is super special, and it’s great to have her explain how it all came to be

Before we begin, you can always watch this episode on Youtube, plus all the other Lush Life episodes as well as a whole lot more; just head to youtube.com/@lushlifemanual that's youtube.com/@lushlifemanual!

Also If you love the show, we would so appreciate your support! You can get our advice on anything to do with home bartending, where to drink in every major city, special recipes, plus a Lush Life mug! Just head to alushlifemanual.substack.com and sign up!

The cocktail of the week is the Cocohill:

INGREDIENTS 

• 60ml / 2oz Mount Gay XO Rum
• 1 Coconut water ice cube

METHOD

• Pour Coconut Water into a silicone mould 3-3.5cm high or regular ice cube moulds and freeze.
• Once frozen, place the coconut ice cube(s)  into an old fashioned glass
• Add XO and serve

You’ll find this recipe and all the cocktails of the week at alushlifemanual.com, plus links to most of the ingredients.

Full Episode Details: https://alushlifemanual.com/mount-gay-rum-with-trudiann-branker

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New episodes every Tuesday, usually!!

>> Susan Schwartz: Can you feel the heat on your face? This

episode, we want to transport you right to the sunny

island of Barbados. Anyone's

guess which rum we'll be exploring?

I'm, um, Susan Schwartz, your drinking companion and

this is Lush Life podcast. Every

week we're inspired to live life one cocktail

at a time. If you haven't

guessed already, it's Mount Gay. Not only

the oldest rum in Barbados, but the oldest

rum in the world. I'm thrilled

that Trudianne Brancker, the trailblazing master

blender, is joining us today.

Starting at the distillery in 2014 as

Quality Assurance manager, Trudianne

rose to prominence with her unique ability to merge

scientific expertise and

creative intuition. Under her

guidance, Mount Gay has unveiled award

winning innovations like the Master Blender

collection and the Single Estate series.

We met at the launch of the Single Estate series

too, and I couldn't wait to have her on the

show. Single Estate is super

special and it's great to have her here to explain how

it all came to be. But before that,

if you love Lush Life, we would so

appreciate your support. By signing up to our

newsletter. You can get our advice on

anything to do with home bartending, where to drink

in every major city, special recipes, and

even your very own Lush Life mug.

Just head to

alushlifemanual.substack.com

and sign up.

Now let's get to Trudiam.

>> Speaker B: It's so great to have you on the show.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Thank you. I'm honored.

>> Speaker B: No, it's fantastic. I can't wait for everyone to hear about what you're

doing because it's pretty exciting. So why don't we start

off with a little introduction. Why don't you tell everyone who you are

and, uh, what you do?

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Yeah. So I am Trudy Ann Brancker. I am the master

blender for Montgay Rum.

And in being the master blender, I really

create all of the Mongay liquids and

all of the research and development activities that,

uh, happen at Moongay. I coordinate.

>> Speaker B: I m always love to go right back to the beginning, to

people's beginnings to see how they got where they did. So

if you could tell me a little bit about where you grew up and I'll

sprinkle some questions in along the way.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So, yes, definitely Bermudian. Very proud of that

fact. Never tried to hide the accent. I don't think I could

if I wanted to, but no. I was born in

Barbados. I went to school here

my entire child

life. However, coming on to 18 when

it was time to go to university. I did leave

Barbados and I went to university

at uh, Howard in Washington D.C. and you

know, it was my first time

going to the US When I went to Howard. So

you know, definitely a new world there.

However, you know it's, it was a, it was a real

beginning with regards to, I would say

my first love for Montguay would have

started then leaving the island, having to take a

gift to persons not knowing. I did reach for

Mount Gay. Not ever thinking that

uh, this is where I would sit one day. But you know it's,

it's always, it's a full circle moment for me. But all

through my spiritual, I was very attracted to the sciences,

biology, chemistry, physics, math

and I really continued that like journey throughout.

In tertiary education at ah, university. Same

study path, biology, chemistry. Never

once connecting the dots again that this is where it

would lead. But unknowingly setting

the stage or providing myself with that base that

would be used later. It's really funny,

people always say when you're in a class, you'll never use that

in real life. One day, you know, you realize, hope your

career is based in a laboratory with the same

look and um, feel that you had then.

And it's that to me that's sometimes

one of the best things to see that there's this real

life application that happens for all of those

studies that I had. But after I finished university

I returned home to Barbados because it was really

important for me at that point to contribute

to Barbados and to bring what I had learned

externally back home. I started my career

at the brew at a local brewery.

>> Speaker B: Wait, wait, hold on, hold on. I have so many things to ask

in between there before you get to the brewery. When you

went to study science at Howard.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Yes.

>> Speaker B: Were you thinking, did you think have a long term goal, like I

want to be a doctor, a scientist or anything that or you just didn't

really know. You just wanted to study science.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: I did. You know, I was still very much gonna follow the

path my parents had, you know, envisioned for me. I was going

to be a doctor. That was,

that was the plan.

>> Speaker B: That was the plan.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: That was the plan. It really was at that time,

um, when I, I actually took a gap year

before I was supposed to go back to med school, funny

enough. And that's when we kind of land at the brewery,

but we're not there yet. We're not there yet

now.

>> Speaker B: And also of course when you got to the US

the drinking age is 21. So

had rum been. I guess this is such a silly Question to ask

someone who's from the islands, but was rum was a big part of

your life?

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Yeah, it's always around, but, you know,

different facets of it become around, if

that's you. So as you were growing up, because the island

is full of sugar cane and you know, of that relationship between

sugarcane and rum, you know, you are always

knowledgeable of how rum is made when you

leave the. When, like at 18 in

Barbados. At 18 is the legal

drinking age or the legal consumption age. But

it's not that at, uh, 18, all of a sudden,

you know, there's this awakening that happens with

regards to it.

It is that, like I said, it's more about the process. And you know, that,

that behind the scenes that happens because you

grow where, like I said, there's sugarcane everywhere.

I would say for me, it was definitely

as I, as I got older, it was more of a gift to

people. It was a representation of Barbados for

me. It was always something I would take back for like a

professor or somebody, you know, you know, a

piece of Barbados. That is what it represented to me

then as I got older and socially

you would go out, of course it would be, it would be the choice

that I, that I would make because, like, again, it really always

resonated for me as being a very Barbadian brand.

And that to me, I think was, was more how

I saw it and how it evolved many

years later when the opportunity presents itself to be a

member of the Munge family, of course

in my mind is the opportunity, you know, of a lifetime to

really become a member of the

Mongue family and represent a brand that,

ah, in my mind, you know, is so

Barbadian. But we're not there yet either.

We're still not there.

>> Speaker B: So you go back and you, your first

job is, you said, in a brewery.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So I come back to Barbados and,

uh, you know, as usual, you know, you're taking a year off, but you've still got to do

something. You still got to do something. And yeah,

I do. I started working at the local brewery and I think that

that's really. Everything changed where

manufacturing became a part of

our career path, that I fell in love with

the production, the, you know, the process to go

through from raw material to, you know, the science

involved, where yeast transform sugars

into alcoholic. It all resonated so

naturally and it, you know, I was

enthusiastic to go every day to study

more, to become part of this. And I think after

maybe like a week after joining the

brewery, you know, it was, I was at that point where it was like, this

is it. Like, I think this is the career path

for me. I still didn't think about Mount

Gay yet. We weren't even thinking about it at

that point. But, you know, as I, as I spent a few more

years and I went moved from being the brewer to

supply chain to quality assurance and really

understanding all the different facets of the, of, uh, the

process, it's where I was able to

make choices, to focus on

things like the taste and the organoleptics,

you know, the nose, the taste, how we develop

them, what happens at each stage. And I think right there

was the turning point where it became like

one day, one day, you know, it was. This was the

direction that pointed me towards Mongie right then.

>> Speaker B: I would hate to be a fly on the wall in the conversation of, mom,

dad, I'm not going to be a doctor,

I'm going to work at the brewery. I'm sure

that it was fine, but.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: You know, you know, I would say this, it was definitely

not the easiest conversation I've ever had with them.

Uh, however, I think, I think

it became significantly better when I became the master

blender at Moatgame. When they were like, yeah, of course, we love.

>> Speaker B: Listen, I totally understand. My dad was like, are you sure.

>> Susan Schwartz: You don't want to be a lawyer?

>> Speaker B: I was like, yeah, Dad, I. I'm sure.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I.

>> Speaker B: So I totally understand. So tell me about the

opportunity to join Mount Gay. Was it from the

brewery to Mount Gay? What pulled you there?

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So in 2014, Remy

Contra was able to acquire the

physical distillery. Prior to that, they

had owned the brand, the bottling facility and all the

aging facilities, but not the distillery itself.

And that was really where the opportunity presented

itself. Because having spent a few years

at the brewery, maybe approximately eight or so, really

my focus was fermentation as well as organoleptics

associated with fermentation specifically.

And it was just a great opportunity to be able

to come to bring that specialty to

the Montguay team and really help

them with regards to starting up this new

distillation process and kind of molding

it into what Montgie needed it to be. And that's,

uh, how we started. So I would have come in as

the quality assurance manager here at Montney when

we took on a brand new process, distillation. And,

you know, we'll get further into all the other

processes we've taken on over the years,

but it was really the opportunity to have that, uh,

developed and reconnect what had been done in the

Past with where we needed to go in the future

to make sure that the gave

liquids would always be at the quality that, you know,

everyone knows and loves.

>> Speaker B: Oh boy, there's so much in there. Maybe we go to. Why don't

you tell people a little bit about the history of Mount

Gay so we can kind of go

backward to go forward, you know.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So Mount Gay is

321 years old. So for the

last 300 plus centuries, you know,

Mongue has operated actually right here where I

sit doing this interview in St.

Lucie, the most northern, um,

parish of the island. And it's always been located in

this specific spot. And what has happened over the years

is, as you know, it has changed hands, it has changed

owners. One thing that has stayed the same is where it

is and how they do what they do.

So throughout the years it's very much been the passing now

of very specific traditions. The, you know, the art

of distillation, you know, blending coming

in the latter part of Mount

Gay's history. But what a lot

of people don't necessarily know is even

though certain aspects of the brand may not have all been owned by the

same person, it was still one cohesive function where the

distillery made liquids which would then come to aging, which would go

to the bottling facility. And that's really how it's always been.

In uh, 2014, when I joined Remy

Concho was given the opportunity to purchase the distillery,

to really bring the entire process

in under one ownership. And that's

really what happened there. And

it didn't call for any physical movement of the

facilities. It really actually with the significance of

it was, was very small. I think a fence was

removed. Literal, physical

fence. But, but what happened is that, you know, you were

able to have one team that would be able

to go from start all the way distillation,

acquirement of um, raw materials m molasses, all the

way to bottling and through to distribution throughout the

world. And that's really what happened in

2014 when I joined. Shortly after that, in

2015, we added something a little more to it. But we'll

get to that little later and

uh, we'll get to that in a sec.

>> Speaker B: So just to clarify for people who might be slightly

confused, did that change when everything came

under one? Did that change the liquid at

all or was the taste still the same

everything that you bought? You know, if you bought a Mount Gay bottle in

2000 and they bought one in 2014, did had

that changed at all.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So no, nothing changed. Because you know

what, what was Already part of the Remy route was all of the

age stock. So all of the maturation, all of the aging,

all of the blending that was already happening. Uh, my

predecessor, Alan Smith, he had been taking care of that and before

him, Jerry Edwards, for decades. And they. They

were the ones who worked very closely with distillation,

you know, to be able to. To keep the consistency that was

needed for Mount Gate. So, you know, it was more

paperwork than anything

else. But these stalwarts in the

industry, you know, that they were the gatekeepers

of Montgay's liquid quality. And that is

definitely one of the things that is handed over from master lender

to master blender.

>> Speaker B: As a new master blender, obviously, you want to make

your own stamp on things. So what

kind of things were you thinking of doing? And then what came

to fruition?

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So I'll say, as the new master blender, I

never once thought about the

change. Uh-huh. You always. What is

first in your mind is the consistency.

>> Speaker B: Okay.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: This will be the same Eclipse, the same black

barrel, the same EXO that everybody knows. They will not

even be able to tell that there's been a difference. But

that's really not what happens, actually. But, uh,

when I became Master Blender, I was given a very

unique opportunity at that point, because we were at

a stage where we really needed to relook at our entire

portfolio and what we were offering. And

we did do some changes

to the core products at that point. And

each individual product had its own way

in which we went about it. I will say,

specifically for Eclipse, Eclipse had little to

no change. Eclipse had a label change,

and that was it. But what. What

was clearly demonstrated was the. The

quantum of barrels and the type of barrels. So for me, it

was very important to have transparency, really

explaining to each person, you know, each. Each client

what is in the bottle, you know, the type of barrels we use

and things of that such exo, the

third master blender to make it. It's.

It's definitely, I think, the one that I had

the most, um, um, angst and I

was super nervous about. But once

again, I was able to add a third barrel type to EXO

to really enhance what was already there. Not

change, you know, the liquid,

but really more highlight the specifics

that make xoxo. And for me,

that was. That was a great opportunity.

But I think what surpassed all of those was

the creation of the Master Blender collection. We never

could have anticipated the following, how

well that product would have been

accepted by everybody. I think I'm on my

eighth virgin, eighth release

this year. Now and then,

like I said, the one that I think I speak

about the most now is single estate.

And being able to bring not only

an addition to the core portfolio that was

100% conceptualized by me,

but also having it be such a Barbadian

offering and such a monk gay offering to add

to that corride, you know, 100

made in Barbados with sugar cane

that I can walk you across the street to the

estate. And, and for me to bring something so

transparent, so nuanced

in for the world of rum, especially molasses

based rum houses, has been

quite, ah, it's been quite an honest to be able

to bring it to persons all throughout the

world.

>> Speaker B: Well, you know, we were lucky, I was really lucky to meet you at the

Connaught when you came over and then, um, got to taste it.

I love the single estate story.

So if you could go really from A to Z

of the beginning of it, what it actually

means, what a single estate, how did it get in the bottle,

all of that stuff, that would be great.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Yeah, we're going to do that. But you know, you've heard me, I could do that

for like two hours.

>> Speaker B: Not the two hour version, maybe the half an hour version.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Exactly. No, no, um, well, single estate,

um, really started in, or really was

reborn I should say, in 2015. So in

2015, Montgay was able to acquire

an estate, a sugar cane estate. It's right across the

street from the distillery and in

Aquarius we were, for the very first time in many, many

years, be able to complete the entire

value chain with regards to soil

to sip where rum was concerned.

And uh, by doing this, what we were

able to do is grow

sugarcane, bring

Barbadian, know how

Barbadian expertise into helping us grow

this sugar cane. So, you know, you've heard me say it

before, we became farmers and, and

I'm very proudly so, very proudly so because you know,

to have that, that, that sk part of the

team is really an asset to the Montguay

construct in total. But single Estate

specifically is a rum made from

100% Montgay

molasses, which has been grown at

the estate. And uh, in

rum, that is such a rarity that you are

able to connect your entire

traceability specifically to

where the cane was grown, what cultivars were

grown, you know, which plots, crops were harvested,

you know, what was the entire year's worth of process

in terms of, you know, like rainfall and all

these other, these other metrics. And to be

able to, to have all of that information, to

be able to. To have access, uh, to

the sugarcane from this specific place, which is

then converted into molasses still here

on site and now here at

Montguay. Because I can walk you from the estate

to the mill, to fermentation, to

distillation and aging. It

really is a very nuanced way

to think about rum, especially,

like I said, molasses based rum. And that is

effectively what single estate is. Single estate

is 100% Mount Gay

molasses, which has been fermented,

distilled in our pot stills and aged here

at ah, Mount Gay and then

bottled and released. We've done

two releases thus far. But what makes

these releases specifically unique is the

transparency that goes behind each and every one of

them. So when you are

ready to, you know, experience what single estate

is, you not only have a beautiful liquid, which is

a given, but you're also able

to walk the walk that we walked over the

five years before this rum

became liquid and started as

cane. So you're able to understand

what the conditions were, how much can.

Was harvested, how much molasses was made,

you know, what the profile was as we went through every

step. And, um, for me, I think that that's the piece that

makes me the happiest about single estate. Being

able to take everybody on that journey with

me as you go from planting

all the way to liquid creation. And

that is really important. Embodies what

singlestate is a holy

Montgay product.

>> Speaker B: So when you acquired this, this land

with the sugar cane on it, which must have been

so exciting for a scientist too, to be like, oh, I can play with

this. Did you use the sugar

cane that was already there? Were you already. Sorry, I'm going to bombard

you with a billion questions right now. Was the soil the way you

wanted it to be? Did you have to change things?

Are you growing some sugar cane like

this and then like a sugar

cane.

>> Susan Schwartz: And then there's a b.

>> Speaker B: Sugar cane to play with it. I mean, how much was.

Was. Was already there and how much did

you kind of play with? Or are you playing with? Should I

say.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Yeah, no. Um, these are great questions.

So first, yes, there was already sugarcane

there. Um, because it wasn't a. It wasn't a

fallow estate. You know, there was sugar cane cane growing

m. So we did. The very first harvest we

would have done in 2015 was from Sugar cane that was

already on the estate itself.

In the years, in the future years,

definitely you would see change. So what we do

is we do regenerative agriculture.

So it is really important to us to preserve the

soil that exists at est, because you want to

be sure that not necessarily in my tenure, but

the next master blender, and the master blender after still has

a healthy estate and is able to reap

and to harvest sugarcane from that estate. So that was one of

the major changes that we made, you know, just converting to

this very different style of agriculture

because it's really not the traditional way in which

sugarcane would be cultivated or

would be grown in Barbados. But once

again, we're setting the example and we do have.

Our estate is 324 acres. So it is a

relatively smaller estate as well.

Um, but one of the other things we did

is, uh, specifically each plot kind of has

its own cultivar. And in

addition to that, we do have some

cultivars that aren't necessarily the best

sugar producers as well. Um, we have a nursery. And that

nursery is really important to us because it's where we're able to

grow newer, um, or I wouldn't call them

newer because, you know, it doesn't start with us, but different

cultivars for what you would make traditionally find on the estates

in Barbados. And it also gives us that opportunity to

understand how they, how they grow and how they develop on our

estate itself.

>> Speaker B: Oh, wait, just one thing. What is a cultivar? Just in

case people don't know.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So one of the things that I learned when the estate

team and the agronomists that we had here

at the time, a, uh, sugarcane is a cultivar and not

a variety. So this is the terminology

that we use. Uh, you know, I'm always

super blown away, like when they're able to speak on this.

And the knowledge that, you know, I get, because I am

the blender at heart, I'm able

to assimilate from what they

know. So as, ah, you can see. And that, that is one of the benefits

too, like I said of that, that knowledge and that know how it

changes how we all speak, how we all view, you

know, what we. And it's really brought a, uh,

sensitivity with regards to may you

move to the very next step, you know, which is like

molasses creation. And then when it comes to the

distillery and I'm able to start fermentation, you

know, we're really just

adding to that knowledge train that we've

gotten from each of these steps as, uh, we get to the next

step. And to me it was, it was just an amazing

experience to be able to do that like from,

from beginning and uh, def. We're not at

the end just yet, but from beginning or

creation to nowhere, we have a liquid that

represents all of that.

>> Speaker B: This may be a silly question, but when you created

the molasses and then you created rum from

it, a liquid from it, did it have the

flavor that you thought it would? Were you, were

you planning on a flavor? Did you even know what you

were going to get? I mean, was it, it different from

what you thought or the same?

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: It was definitely different from what we

thought. You know, it was, it was very one of those unknowns for

us. The very first time the Wendy

molasses showed up at the distillery, you know, before we

went to the process, you know, everyone's kind of, we're all standing

around and we're all like, okay, we're nervous but we're

happy. You know, it's the first time. This time it's

going to like a whole different area because it has to be segment

segregated because we're very, very careful to ensure that,

you know, when we make single estate, only the single estate

inputs are part of the single estate process.

And uh, it first got there and, and

the first thing is it's a molasses, so it's not the

sea molasses, which is what you traditionally will

get, um, from the industry. Because just

in case someone who's listening doesn't know, you know,

rum, especially molasses based rum, have been

made with what would be

an, I guess almost a waste product of the

sugar production process. And hence,

you know, you get a grade which is called C

molasses. However, for single estate, because sugar

is not our goal, we

use amylases, which is, you could

say a different quality because, you know, it

is, there's less sugar that has been extracted from the

process, less processing, all of these things

that have happened. So the first time, you know, we're all

standing around, you know, it's arriving, you never believe. Like

15 people watching molasses offload, which

never happens. It's so

automatic. But it was, it was all of that. It was the build up

to, of something new happening, something exciting.

I'd say for me the biggest aha, uh, moment was during

fermentation where all of a sudden

the notes that we were getting were very different. Different from what we

get in our traditional montgay, you know, you know, people were passing

by and we're like, pineapple? Is that what that

is like? You know, it's, it was, it was this bouquet

of fruitiness that are, uh, not Necessarily

the ones that we would get, you know, traditional

Mungay, you, you walk on by, you know, you're gonna

get that nice, like, ripe banana, you know, like almost like a

red apple sometimes that we know to expect this,

we know at which stage, how many days, what will show

up. But this was a whole new experience where

it's this new molasses that we've

never had access to before, and

now we're going through. And so every day that fermenter

kept, the process kept going, and that transformation of that

sugar to ethanol was a new discovery

for us, and it kept going from there. The discovery started

there and as we moved to distillation and

we're working very closely, you know, and those

very first years we really had, um, one of

the oldest tenured employees here at

Montguay, Renault Blues. You know, he, he

was still working with us at that time, you know, so it was very,

it was very exciting for me because I wasn't master blender just

yet, but the previous master blender knew he would

never be the one to bring this to market.

So this was really my very first project when I joined

Imonge team. And uh, you know,

I think at that excitement alone, this very, this person who

has ran and, I don't know, so many distillations

on the pots that I can count, you

know, with me here, who is so excited about this

very new product, you know. And

the whole thing was, like I said, like, it was just excitement,

discovery, all of those things. And uh, year on year

I just kept discovering because as, ah, each

harvest comes through the process, as each harvest

goes to age and we go back and we look and we

understand, like, what's happening over time. It's still

a brand new library of montgay,

Montgay cuts and montgay

age runs that I'm still developing

where single estate is concerned.

>> Speaker B: And how long was it before until

you, uh. I'll bring down the bottle. Hold on.

Um, till you, uh, had it in the bottle.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So the first release we had was in

2023.

Yeah, it was a while, you know, it was, it was, you know, I like

to call it one of the best worst kept secrets at

Mungay because

it was definitely like the, the worst kept secret if

you visited. Because we definitely are so excited

to show you the estate. And you know, if you happen to

be here when it's happening, you kind of know, but like the best

kept secret in that, you know, it really was not, um, something we

spoke about in any sort of like Media

coverage or, you know, any, any seminars or

masterclasses. We weren't ready yet. We weren't ready yet. So it was

really, you know, and that opportunity was amazing for the process

team for me to be able to get very

familiar with this product before we even came to market

and were able to explain what it is, how it

came about. And um, in 2023,

oh, you're able to do the very first release. But for

the first release I really wanted it to be just like a, like

an ode to Montgay. So we still did a blend and

you know, we chose to highlight the nuances of the

2016 and the 2017 harvest.

Since then, we've done a second release in

2024 and this release is

a vintage. It is a single harvest,

the harvest of 2018. Quite a significant

harvest as well, because this is the harvest where you um,

heard me mention mentioned previously, you know, that we have that know

how with our estate team having

the, you know, an agronomist here with us as well as

the agricultural coordinator who's worked many, many decades,

um, in this industry and they joined the team that year. So

this was their first harvest as well. So,

you know, so now, you know, we've gone from being able, and I

mean in two very short years and that speaks a lot to

uh, how comfortable I was able to

get with this process and how comfortably

we're able now to transition, translate what we have done

over the years to everyone to be able to go from

a blend, you know, highlighting to harvest, really

showing facing the uniqueness of having a

molasses that was made

specifically from the Montgae estate and then

being able to showcase a vintage, just a uh,

snapshot of that specific year

and being able to, to bring that to everyone.

So you'll see. I mean, you can tell I get really excited when I,

when I have to seekable single estate.

>> Speaker B: Well, it is really exciting and, but it's

interesting because if literally,

uh, everyone has seen a Mount Gay bottle. Anyone who drinks

any liquid, I think has seen what Mount Gay

looks like the bottle. But this looks completely

different. And why the decision to

go with something that really doesn't.

Doesn't look like anything that you've done before.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Yeah, because single, a single estate isn't like anything we

released before. I mean it's, it makes

sense when you think about it from that way. But

so as a, you know, for many years, the,

the specifics with how we treat the

estate and the care and attention with regards to

sustainability. Like I said, choosing

to practice regenerative agriculture,

despite it being more labor

intensive in terms of the person, persons you need it being

maybe sometimes more financially aggressive,

because there are certain things you cannot use that,

that, and you always choose what is better for the soil. When it came

to designing the bottle, you know, the team really wanted

to, to encapsulate that mindset,

that transparency that we have with regards

to how we do everything we do for Single Estate.

So to represent Single Estate, you know, we chose

a, um, bottle that is

70% recycled glass. It's

exactly minimalistic in its labeling,

but still very transparent. So Single

Estate always will, will be, will tell you what

is in the bottle before you touch it. So if you get your hands on

one, especially this one, you'll see there's a code at the

front which is. It's the 2024 edition.

It's zero. Exactly. Then there is

a 02 because it is the second release of

single estate. And then it's a vintage

2018. So the VT18. And, uh,

we did it in two separate distillations, same

elastics, just two distillations about three months

apart. So D2. And, uh, what the

team has done is they've also placed a QR

code where when you scan it, you

literally can tell, you can get all the information

associated with the entire process of

making Single Estate for that year.

So, you know, it's really funny when someone sits you

down and they're like, tell me everything that happened five years

ago.

>> Speaker B: You're like, just go here.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Exactly. And then you. And they take all of that information.

After speaking to me, after speaking to, you know, Kevin

and the team at the sd, you know, after speaking to the

distillation team, and it all goes there so

that every single person can go, go on the journey of

Single Estate. Because for us, Single Estate, it's an

amazing product. You know, it's nothing like we've done

before, but what is key to us is that it's setting the

stage for that transparency where rum is

concerned. You know, you talk the talk, but you do,

you walk the walk sometimes as well. And for

Meltgay, my ethos has always been. And

the host of Montguay's ethos has always been, let's be

transparent about how we do what we do. So, you know,

if I say to you, you know, this has no sugar in it,

or if I say, you know, there's been nothing added, what you're

tasting is 100% from the barrel, you

know, from, from our ability to select the

specific Barrels to give you these nuances, then that

is what it is. And um, that was the mindset I took when

it came to Single Estate. Every single aspect

that has gone into Single Estate is clearly there for, for anyone

to see.

>> Speaker B: And when you created them, how were you expecting

people to drink it, to sip it and to

add ice to it, to have it in

your favorite cocktail? I mean, what were you thinking?

Obviously it's super special, so you wouldn't want to just

throw sour mix into it, but how would you want someone to

drink it?

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So for Single Estate, neat is always my

recommendation. Um, neat, neat, neat. You know, I like to say

I make something for every occasion. So, you know, if

you want to make a cocktail, you know, we've definitely

got rumored for that too as well, because

that's, that's key, you know, that everything has its

purpose. So for Single Estate specifically, I would recommend

it neat. But if you want to go the cocktail way, you can

go from Eclipse being amazing in a rum

punch to Exo, you know, Coco Hill. You know,

that's my, um, go to sometimes when it

comes to a cocktail, very easy to make. And

you, uh, know, I don't claim to be an

X expert at, uh,

crafting cocktails. You know, I always say I

respect persons who. That is

their talent and their ability to showcase what

I have crafted in such a different way. I, ah, have

complete, you know, but, but there are some of them that are easy enough

that even I can make them.

>> Speaker B: And me too, me too. I know

I've got, I always. People are like, oh, you must make cocktails

so well. I'm like, no, I leave that to the, the professionals.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Exactly, exactly. I also leave that to the

professionals and make very simple ones.

Like when you freeze coconut water and pour some exo

over and I'm like, gorgeous, gorgeous. I've made this

cocktail.

>> Speaker B: Yeah, that's really easy. Now you've had the

first, which was a bled, and then you've had the second. So you've

got to tell me what's happening now, what's happening next?

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So what's happening next? So definitely there will be a

third. The idea here

is, But I think you know what, I'll, I'll give you this. What, what you will

see from Single Estate is you will see us developing

Single Estate, you know, always staying true to the core, where the

molasses comes from, transparency and the

process, all of those things. But you will see some new

things coming from Single Estate in

the future. And because, because the idea here is to, is to

really build on what we have, what

we know, and. And be able to bring everyone in a

little more to the journey that. That

we take for Single Estate. Can't. Can't give away too much,

but definitely look out.

Um, we usually. Usually Single Estate is released

around October, so we're very early in the

year, very early in the year before

we get there. But yes, definitely keep. Keep looking

out for the. For the Single Estate releases.

They're not very many. Um, every year we do

only Release, uh,

approximately 4,000 and some bottles.

Because it's key for me that we're able to understand what

is still happening with the. With the rum as it ages

and as our age progresses. So never truly

depleting any harvest or any specific year

because, you know, we still have that. That journey to. To go

on.

>> Speaker B: Yeah, I'm sure the magic is happening in the, uh,

in those greenhouses with the cultivars.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Listen, the magic, you know, that's the beauty of Single

Estate. The magic's happening everywhere. So, you know, we've got some magic happening

at the estate. You know, every year is unique,

Every year is different, but then we've got all these different harvests that

we've transformed into rum in the bonds also

doing their thing, you know, with tropical aging. So it's,

you know, it's almost as if it's like this whole construct by

itself that's really happening. And. And,

you know, it's like I said, M. You know, we went from that very

first one having a finite amount of barrels that we all like

watching every day. We're like, what's happening? Is it happening?

Are we good to know? You know, it being

just so much a part of who we are

and, um, what we do, you know, setting up the tastings,

monitoring year on year, you know, as we.

As we go by. But I will say this, like, one thing

has not changed. When it's harvest the plate,

everybody is super excited. Like, so

it's almost as if, like, you know, like a special

celebration has come to Nimonge Estate

specifically and also to the distillery.

>> Speaker B: Well, you know, I was excited to try the molasses. I'm

sure that is, you know, every single time I'd be

like, molasses, please. I do love it. It's funny,

you know, I think Barbados Tourism Board

should just say the magic is happening in Mount Gay.

And that should be, you know, that is it.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: I will say that, you know, we do, like, we

harvest. Mogay has their harvest, but it is part of a bigger

celebration that happens in Barbados. So,

you know, we tend to harvest at the end of the Barbados,

the country's harvest. And right about that time we

have, uh, a celebration called Cropover

where, you know, traditionally, obviously many,

many years ago, it was a celebration of the end of

the harvest on the island. So cropped over. But now

it's really, it's, it's our carnival that just does

coincide with the end of our Barbadian harvest and

the country does come alive. So we're a small part of

that bigger excitement that happens every year around

that time.

>> Speaker B: Well, gosh, I would love to be there.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: So you come to Barbados. You come in August,

July, that.

>> Speaker B: Yeah, we are coming. We're coming. Well, this has been

so great. I am so pleased that we got to talk about

it and, and uh, so much exciting stuff is

happening. I think the people who created Mount

Gay in 1703 would be super pleased

by, uh, the fact that not only is it still around,

but that you're at the helm creating all these new

things.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Thank you. Thank you.

>> Speaker B: Absolutely. Thank you for being on the show.

It's been fantastic.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: It has been. It has been.

>> Speaker B: Thank you and hopefully see you in London soon

for another cocktail.

>> Trudy Ann Brancker: Hopefully.

>> Susan Schwartz: I so want to thank Trudy Ann for joining me on the

program. Her choice for cocktail of the week is

simple, yet so effective in showing off

Mount Gay XO Rum. And thank

you so much to Mount Gay for sponsoring the transcription

for the hearing impaired.

Our cocktail of the week is the Coco

Hill. This minimalist masterpiece

combines the rich, complex flavors of Mount Gay

XO Rum with refreshing purity

of coconut water, creating a drink that is

as elegant as it is effortless.

First, pour coconut water into a silicone ice

cube mold or regular ice cube. Mold and

freeze if you can. You want to

make one fabulous ice cube.

Once frozen, place the coconut ice cube or

cubes into an old fashioned glass. Then

pour 60 mils or 2 ounces of Mount Gay

XO rum over the ice cube and

serve. As I said,

simple but effective.

You'll find this recipe in all the cocktails of the week at

a lush life manual.com plus links

to most of the ingredients.

Are you on MSN? Check out all my latest

posts on MSN.com and search for

Lush Life and follow.

If you live for Lush Life, then make sure you head out to the bars you

love and order a drink. The

music for Lush Life is by Steven Shapiro and used with with

permission. And Lush Life is always and

will be forever produced by Evoterra and Simpler

Media Productions, which leads me to say the wise

words of Oscar Wilde. All things in moderation,

including moderation. And always drink

responsibly. Next week

we take a look at whiskey.

Until then, bottoms.