Mount Gay XO Extra Old

MGXO has a super nice balance of dry, smokey, sweet, and oaky barrel flavor. There are hints of marshmallow vanilla along with chocolate, leather, and oak. Some subtle dried cherries and molasses flavor as well. I'm a bourbon fan which may be why I like this so much. There is a noticeable complexity of flavors it has besides just sweetness. There is a wonderful dry element to this one and I prefer it on the rocks at 43% alcohol. Extremely happy with this and will definitely be buying again. Update: coming back to this was difficult at first, I have tried so many "premium" sugary rums since and I couldn't appreciate it the way I used to. Over a few sessions of sipping at first it was just too hot and I could only taste the alcohol, then I added a little bit of water and time to the equation. After breathing and a dab of water I was able to recollect my initial love for this rum with its natural dry fruit/molasses sweetness and smooth finish. It's notably smoother on the finish than Doorly's 12 year and I can say that for sure now.

This has become my go to sipping rum. Perfectly balanced and smooth, not overly sweet, rich flavor. I can’t find any fault with this Mount Gay XO. Truly a benchmark for other sipping rums.

I'm relatively new to the world of rum in that I hadn't ever tried anything outside of Sailor Jerry, Capt Morgan, or the other bottom shelf stuff.

My first thoughts on this was, "Wow". Great mouth feel, smooth, great flavor. This is my favorite hard liquor right now.

As a 'new' Rum drinker, I'm still exploring the vastness of different flavors and brands, but I specifically chose this as it's one of the better rated Rums. I've also let several other friends try this as well and they were very impressed.

Appearance: 9/10
Pours a deep amber, forms thin legs that cling to the side of the tumbler. Looks delicious.
Smell: 9/10
Initial strong alcohol sting in the nose. After it has a chance to breathe for about 10 min at room temp, I get strong forward vanilla, cinnamon and wood, like an underlying scent of a cedar chest. Upon closer investigation, honey and spice can be detected. Simply lovely.
Taste: 9/10
Taste mostly follows the nose. Altogether sweet and bracing, with an almost cola-like undertone. But it's not candy-sweet like some fortified rums (Zaya). The tannic oak notes are definitely present, but in perfect balance with cola/honey sweetness. There's a bit of fire on the back of the palate, but only if I'm paying attention to it. Very smooth.
Mouthfeel: 9/10
Vicious, slick, resinous, almost chewy. This definitely has some body.

Overall impressions: This is a serious taster's rum. I prefer this to the Zaya that everyone raves about. Although I thought Zaya was pleasant enough, like an enjoyable liqueur or cocktail, this high-quality product does not need a slathering of sugar to make it sippable. Nor does this libation need ice or water. It's perfectly fine neat. It's balanced in all the right ways, dry heat to sweet, vanilla/spice/cola to astrigent wood. It's so complex and good that thinking about it makes my mouth water. I'm glad I invested in a bottle of this. It was well worth the price.

The barrel aging comes through strong and its pretty darn dry so if you have a sugar tooth your not going to like this. This is a straight up neat in a tumbler whisky and rye drinkers rum. I like that it's bottled at 43% the extra heat makes for a warming session. This is perfect cool weather rum for occasions such as an evening spent on the beach.
I'm doing a side by side with the Brugal 1888 which has a higher grassy cane tone and maybe for that a justified 40% hence smoother quality but still I just think all rum should be bottled above 80 proof.
Both are top notch and side by side it's like Simon and Garfunkel but your not sure which one is Simon.
If you are exploring the world of Rum such as I and are coming from a single malt or bourbon background than this is a 100% sure bet must try at least once. It may not be your favorite but there is no way your going to be disappointed. For me I have placed a rather large 'YES' stamp on my file card.
I now know this is the goods.

J'ai mis une note de 7.5, mais c'est à cause que je le prend avec du cola au du perrier. Bon rhum qui a un gout de bois du baril.

I tried this side by side with the much more expensive Mount Gay 1703. I really struggled to pick a winner.

The 1703 was probably a little smoother and easier drinking, but I think it is borderline overaged. The XO had more a little more sweetness to it, and a tad more spiciness, and also slightly less bourbon flavor, making it just a bit better imho.

Notes of caramel, spice, bourbon, oak, and vanilla make this is a good rum. I would personally prefer a little more sweetness, but again to me, this just beats the 1703.

This one is the best mt gay i have tasted.. But it have some oak finish that allmost runs it over to the caronis disqgusting taste.. But it just balances out before.. So it´s clearly drinkable..

I have seen some negative ratings for this rum in a few places; I have to say, I was surprised.
This is some tasty stuff!!
If it wasn't for the finish which is really dry and slightly bitter and tends to linger longer then i would prefer; this would be an 8 or 9.

This is what rum should taste like! A quite affordable sipper that's not sweet, yet retains a fruity quality. The rum against which all rum should be measured!

edited to add sugar test results- 0g