Rum with satay and rendang? Great pairings according to Mount Gay ambassador - Augustman
Augustman Logo
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
E-Magazine
Most Trending
Rum with satay and rendang? Great pairings according to Mount Gay ambassador
Most Recent
Rum with satay and rendang? Great pairings according to Mount Gay ambassador
Most Trending
Tom Ford Highlights The Need For Flexibility Within The Fashion System
Most Recent
COS Presents Its Sustainable Denim Collection for SS21
  • Fashion
  • Watches
  • Grooming
Most Trending
Mattel Has A Life-Sized Floating Baby Yoda Up For Auction
Most Recent
I’ll Be Back: Netflix Is Making A Terminator Anime Series
  • Design
  • Events
  • Art
  • Music
  • Film & TV
Most Trending
What’s New In The 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Most Recent
Michelin Aims To Make Its Tires Fully Sustainable By 2050
  • Tech
  • Motoring
Most Trending
Blair Crichton Of Karana On Turning Jackfruit Into Meat, And Embracing A Plant-Based Future
Most Recent
How To Get A Free Guinness This St. Patrick’s Day
  • Dining
  • Drinks
Most Trending
These Are Asia’s Most Stunning Mangrove Forests
Most Recent
The New Air France In-Flight Safety Video Will Make You Miss Paris And Flying
  • Travel Guides
  • Hotels & Resorts
Most Trending
Nourishing Superfoods To Add To Your Diet This 2021
Most Recent
Amp Up Your Home Gym With These Designer Fitness Equipment
  • Fitness
  • Health
Most Trending
Uncover Mindful Living with AUGUSTMAN x LIFESTYLEASIA
Most Recent
Social Entrepreneur Josh Tetrick of Eat Just Talks Sustainability And The Future of Food
  • Men of the Year
  • MVMT
  • August Mentors
  • A-Listers
  • Hit List
  • sg
    • MY
    • SG
  • Search
Rum with satay and rendang? Great pairings according to Mount Gay ambassador
Sort & Filter
Close Filter
Sort By
Date
Relevance
Filter By Category
All Categories
All
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
Apply
Filter By Location
singapore
All Countries
Food & Drink
How To Get A Free Guinness This St. Patrick’s Day
Food & Drink
Blair Crichton Of Karana On Turning Jackfruit Into Meat, And Embracing A Plant-Based Future
Food & Drink
Could This Be The World’s Oldest Mass Production Brewery? Egypt Thinks So
Augustman Logo
sg
Rum with satay and rendang? Great pairings according to Mount Gay ambassador
Back
All  Style
  • Fashion
  • Watches
  • Grooming
Back
All  Culture
  • Design
  • Events
  • Art
  • Music
  • Film & TV
Back
All  Gear
  • Tech
  • Motoring
Back
All  Food & Drink
  • Dining
  • Drinks
Back
All  Travel
  • Travel Guides
  • Hotels & Resorts
Back
All  Wellness
  • Fitness
  • Health
Back
All  AM Select
  • Men of the Year
  • MVMT
  • August Mentors
  • A-Listers
  • Hit List
E-Magazine
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Sort & Filter
Close Filter
Sort By
Date
Relevance
Filter By Category
All Categories
All
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
Apply
Filter By Location
singapore
All Countries
Food & Drink

Rum with satay and rendang? Great pairings according to Mount Gay ambassador

Xiangjun Liao
07 Dec 2018
Article Hero Image
Trending Now
I’ll Be Back: Netflix Is Making A Terminator Anime Series
CultureRead More
How To Get A Free Guinness This St. Patrick’s Day
Food & DrinkRead More
Michelin Aims To Make Its Tires Fully Sustainable By 2050
GearRead More
COS Presents Its Sustainable Denim Collection for SS21
StyleRead More
Want honest food & drink reviews or handy dining & nightlife guides? We have it all. Sign up to receive it.

HELD up to the light, the heady liquid in our glasses shimmers copper. Nosing the newly-released Mount Gay XO The Peat Smoke Expression reminds one of overripe bananas tossed with bay leaves (or dried thyme, the next best approximation), while crushing earthy peat underfoot.

Wait – that last element isn’t common in rum. Birthed of molasses on sugarcane plantations, the beverage so often associated with pillaging, one-eyed pirates more often sports just herbaceous, grassy notes pepped up with citrus or berries and couched by vanilla and caramel. So there’s usually plenty of warmth, but no fire or smoke.

But it turns out Mount Gay – the world’s oldest rum distillery and certainly the biggest name on Barbados – isn’t afraid of experimenting. And so master distiller Allen Smith took a blend of 8- to 15-year rum and finished it in heavily peated casks from Islay, and the product’s delicious. Banana-forward with nuts and cherry apple goes down smooth, aided by a long-lasting, creamy finish.   (Disclaimer: We never did shake from them where exactly the casks come from, but we’re ardent fans of an Islay-based whisky distillery and we picked up overlaps.)

The drink – bottled at cask strength (57% ABV, avast!) is aromatic and memorable, but equally mesmerising is the animated gent telling us that Disney’s among the main culprits for giving the amber liquid somewhat of an off-brand rep as cheap swill for pirates. In reality, sea-faring was the realm of the wealthy and the educated, and rum among the preferred spirits, and it was only later with the advent of privateering did distilled rum (or grog) become tied to the buccaneering horde.

Miguel Smith is six years the international ambassador for the distinguished distillery, so we sit him down for a quick pow-wow to see what we’ve been missing out on.

Q: You mentioned rum was the drink of the wealthy and that the association with pirates was very much a historical inaccuracy. Do you think this has been a boon or bane to the rum industry?

 This is something we have always spoken of – many consider the navy and merchant ships to have been instrumental in the spread of rum across the world in its earliest times. Though there are some references drawing the connection between rum and pirates that are accurate, the story of rum is rich and multi-faceted, so we should not regard them to be the sole truth when there are so many others that together comprise a fuller overarching narrative behind the spirit.

 Q: What’s rum traditionally best enjoyed with?

Rum’s most important condiment is good company and a great atmosphere, however, it is well documented that rum, as a category, is the most diverse – it is always possible to find a rum perfect for mixing, for using in different types of cocktails, or for enjoying neat.

Q: Could you list three Asian dishes that you think or know would go down great with Mount Gay? What about them makes the pairing tick?

Appetizer: Satay

Satay is a natural pairing with rum, especially with Mount Gay Black Barrel, as the charred flavors from both make for a rich experience, with layers of spice, smoke, and light sweetness. The nuttiness of the satay sauce works really nicely with the almond notes in the Black Barrel.

Main: Rendang

Rendang probably is one of the most flavorful and complex dishes in this region! Exotic spices like cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon actually play a big part in the cuisines of Barbados and the Caribbean, so Caribbean rums have always paired well with cooking that features these spices. I love pairing our XO and Black Barrel with rich, aromatic foods such as rendang, as both rums are very persistent, and have big flavor profiles that can hold their own against a heady, robust meat course.

Dessert: Khanom Khrok

These amazing little coconut rice cakes from Thailand look simple to make, but are super flavorful and fragrant – the coconut aroma and the richness of the cake itself pair perfectly
with Mount Gay XO. The rich pastry notes in the rum bring out a new spicy dimension to the cake’s flavor profile, enriching the whole experience!

Q: Pirates aside, the biggest misconception about rum is..?

… that it is a one-dimensional, unsophisticated spirit with no flavor, and no interesting history to speak of.

Clearly we have multi-dimensional rums worthy of any premium offering that are relevant in any situation, be it for an aperitif, cocktail hour, or a lazy evening with a cigar, or a complex dessert rum that satisfies every taste.

Rum is also a bit more fun since it is not a spirit that takes itself too seriously.

Q: What can fans look forward to coming out of Mount Gay?

As long as there is a demand for premium rums from us, we will continue to pursue the best possible rum on earth. We will also continue to release traditional rums incorporating our traditional methods that we hope our dedicated fans and new consumers will like.

singapore
rum
Mount Gay
Mount Gay XO The Peat Smoke Expression
Barbados
Miguel smith
Allen Smith
Xiangjun Liao
XJ is the associate digital editor and works the F&B, tech, watch and motoring beats. Correspondingly, he's an alcoholic carnivore with a boyish fascination for all things mechanical. No prizes for guessing which Jaguar he wishes to commandeer.
Talk to Me About:
Technology
gaming
alcohol
restaurants
cars
Watches

Up Next For You

The Best Vintages Of Brunello di Montalcino To Add To Your Cellar
James Suckling
Food & Drink
Going Meatless: Will The Future Of Dining Revolve Around Plant-Based Foods?
Richard Augustin
Food & Drink
Still undecided for Valentine's Day? We have a few Ideas
Juliana Chan
Food & Drink
6 Limited Edition Chinese New Year Spirits To Toast The Year Of The Ox
Richard Augustin
Food & Drink
Want honest food & drink reviews or handy dining & nightlife guides? We have it all. Sign up to receive it.
×
Where are you?
Tell us so we can display what you want to see.
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
Malaysia Singapore
Advertise About Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions
© 2021 Copyright Augustman