page_title: Mount Gay Rum
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mount Gay Rum / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Mount Gay Rum Visitors Centre in Barbados, as situated along the Spring Garden Highway near Brighton's Beach. It claims to be the oldest remaining Rum company in the world with the earliest surviving deed from 1703.
context_page_description: Mount Gay Rum is produced by Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd. of Barbados, the easternmost island of the West Indies. The oldest surviving deed for the company is from 1703, making Mount Gay Rum the world's oldest commercial rum distillery. The current majority shareholder of Mount Gay Distilleries since 1989 is Rémy Cointreau. Mount Gay Rum is sold in 110 countries, and its primary export market is the United States of America.
context_section_description: Mount Gay Rum is named for Sir John Gay Alleyne, 1st Baronet of Four Hills. He was a trusted friend of John Sober, who purchased the Mount Gilboa Plantation/Distilleries from William Sandiford in 1747.  Sir John Gay Alleyne agreed to become the manager of the company at John Sober's request. Sir John Gay Alleyne was so effective at leading the company, and earned such a widely respected reputation internationally as a business manager and community leader, that the company was renamed in his honour after his death in 1801 at the proposal of his longtime friend John Sober, whose estate benefited greatly over the years under Sir John Gay Alleyne's effective management. As there was already a Mount Alleyne in existence on the island of Barbados, the company was renamed Mount Gay Distilleries, incorporating the beloved Sir John Gay Alleyne's middle name. In 1757, Sir John Gay Alleyne was elected to the Parliament of Barbados, for the Parish of St. Andrew, a seat he held for the next forty years, with only a break in 1771. He became Speaker of the Barbados House of Assembly in 1767, serving until 1770 and after another two years was reappointed until 1779. Alleyne was named a Baron of Four Hills on 6 April 1769. According to Hilary Beckles, historian and principal of the University of the West Indies – Cave Hill Campus, Sir John Gay Alleyne was a popular leader among the planter elite and a great philanthropist. He was also one of the most influential voices of his time to speak out against the institution of slavery. On 29 April 2010, while speaking at the Founder's Day service at Alleyne School, which was founded by Sir John Gay, alumnus and guest speaker Monsignor Vincent Blackett stated that Sir John Gay Alleyne should certainly be named one of Barbados' National Heroes.
  Mount Gay Rum is made from molasses and water that has been filtered through natural coral. This mix is fermented using an exclusively selected yeast and then distilled in both copper pot stills and column stills, before being aged in oak barrels.
  Mount Gay Distilleries has released several limited edition rums over the course of their history to honor their nautical heritage or commemorate important occasions in the history of Barbados.
  The little red star on the image of the island on Mount Gay Rum's former bottle label represents the capital of Barbados, Bridgetown, not the location of the distilleries, which are actually in the northern part of the island. In the Bridgetown area, Mount Gay maintains the Mount Gay Rum Visitors Centre on the Spring Garden Highway in Brandons, St. Michael. The Mount Gay Visitor's Center is a tourist attraction that hosts several tours and events.
  The company throughout the 20th century was in the hands of the Ward family in the parish of St. Peter.  The Ward family resides in the northernmost parish of St. Lucy, where they have extensive agricultural holdings.
caption: Visitors Centre in Parish of St. Michael
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