>> 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.