Mount Gay was founded in 1703, making it the oldest rum producer in the world. John Sober inherited a small distillery at the top of Mount Gilboa, in the parish of Saint Lucy, Barbados. In 1947, he put Sir John Gay Alleyne in charge of the distillery. Sober was so impressed by Sir John’s work that he renamed the distillery after him in 1801. The estate was then taken over by Aubrey Fitz-Osbert Ward in 1918 and remained in the family until his son’s death in 1989. The French group Rémy Cointreau became the majority shareholder and bought the remain shares from Ward’s heirs in 2014. The rums produced are normally a combination of spirit distilled in column and pot stills, but the brand is also known for its single pot stills and triple distillations.

Last Ward is a Mount Gay distilled in 2009, matured for nine years and bottled in 2018 for the Habitation Velier range. It was triple-distilled in pot stills and bottled from the casks bought by Luca Gargano in 2014 when Frank Ward sold the distillery to Rémy Cointreau. Velier was founded in Genoa by Casimir Chaix in 1947. It was originally a small, family-run business specializing in the import and distribution of wine and spirits. Luca Gargano, a former representative for Saint James and serious rum collector and enthusiast, bought the business in 1986 and began bottling whisky first in 1992 and then rum in 1996. Rums selected by Velier are only ever aged in a tropical climate, which explains both their concentration and the high angel’’s share. They are generally bottled at cask strength or just below. Its selections from Diamond’’s vaults, the Caroni bottlings and the bottlings from various distilleries in Jamaica, Barbados and other countries are key to rum’’s history and are today some of the most sought-after in the category.