‘A Thrilling Experiment’: Mount Gay Rum Bottles up the Solar Eclipse With Navy Strength Release

In honor of the 2024 solar eclipse, Mount Gay Rum is retooling one of its flagship expressions with a scorchingly high ABV. On Wednesday, the brand unveiled Mount Gay Eclipse Navy Strength, a 114.2-proof bottling matured between two to four years at the distiller's headquarters in Barbados. While the original Eclipse expression drew inspiration from the passing of Halley's comet in 1910, its new high-proof counterpart was designed as an ode to "the rich naval history where rum played a crucial role aboard ships." Navy strength spirits — popular in both the rum and gin category — derive their name from alcohol rations once given to sailors in the Royal British Navy. As legend has it, spirits were given a "proof" test that involved soaking them in gunpowder and attempting to light a flame. Though spirits typically ignite at around 50% ABV, modern interpretations of navy strength have settled on 57% as the definitive number.

“When creating this new expression, I took inspiration from Mount Gay’s long history with sailing," Mount Gay Master Blender Trudiann Branker said. "Given that Eclipse has been loved by sailors around the world since its launch in 1910, it made sense to experiment with the loved blend at Navy Strength. When I first tried it, I was blown away by the vibrancy of the flavor of the rum. Crafting it at Navy Strength was a thrilling experiment that paid off unveiling a rum that’s not only rich in flavor but also in history and tradition.”

Available now at $29.99, Mount Gay Eclipse Navy Strength is said to boast notes of roasted pineapple, banana, mocha and vanilla. Whether it's a new Barbie movie or the Super Bowl, certain cultural phenomenons spawn their fair share of event-inspired releases. This year's solar eclipse was no different. Balcones Distilling and TINCUP Whiskey both tossed their hats into the ring with eclipse-adjacent releases, with TINCUP going so far as to release its own line of eclipse-safe eyewear. New York's Black Button Distilling took a different approach, releasing a purple-tinted Dark Sky Gin featuring a holographic moon on its label. [botmc-promo]