Aroma visualization from community tastings
Mount Gay Extra Old XO Reserve Cask
What surprises people used to sweetened Barbados rum: this one reads dry, and you notice it. Sweetness of caramel and vanilla hits first, then oak, chocolate and spice take over into a drier finish. Several tasters call it an honest, unsweetened classic — banana bread, dried fruit, roasted wood. A few find it a touch thin or woody, but most treat it as a dependable everyday sipper.
The community says- Tastes unsweetened
- Balanced and easy
- But: Can feel thin
View price history
10 more payment methodsShopping safely on RumX Returns & cancellation
- Secure payment. You pay via RumX with PayPal, Klarna or card. Your payment data is encrypted and we never store your full card details.
- Clear seller. Sold and shipped directly by the partner shop. And you're never on your own: RumX handles support and communication with the shop, so you always get excellent service, whichever shop you order from.
- Honest shop ratings. The stars show your service experience with the shop, not the rum score. They come from RumX users, and critical ones stay visible.
- Returns & cancellation. Your purchase contract is with the shop, so returns and cancellations run through them under their own policy and your statutory rights. If anything goes wrong, RumX helps you sort it out.
The look inside the bottle
How does Mount Gay Extra Old XO Reserve Cask taste?
Aggregated from 238 community reviews.
Dry, honest everyday Barbados sipper Widely liked as an honest, no-added-sugar Bajan classic — balanced caramel, oak and spice. Some find it a bit thin, dry or one-dimensional, but it's a trusted daily pour.
People wanting an honest, unsweetened Barbados sipper or Old Fashioned base
Fans of sweet, syrupy, high-complexity rums
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
78 of 238 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
Your next rum
One difference each to this rum.
First choice: 30 of 40 tasters who tried both prefer it.
How is Mount Gay Extra Old XO Reserve Cask rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.5 sits in the “Good” band. 73% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 2% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
67% rate it between 6 and 8. 36 selected write-ups from 238 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
One of the community's most-rated rums
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful positive review
This is definitely a Bajan style rum. Heavy and yet well balanced. This release is better than the one from 2011.
Review by Jean Louisss
Most helpful critical review
A little high quality-price ratio, but for a sweet rum, it does quite well
Review by Stefan Persson
Had just a sample of it, but I will definitely not hesitate for more if I get an opportunity again. The nose is round and pleasant with aromas of vanilla and chocolate. At the palate it’s complex, mild, balanced and spicy. The finish is medium long.
Review by Galli33
This one a tried in a cool australian restaurant in frankfurt. Classic mount gay I would say, from the start to the end… Dried fruits, wood, roasted aromas, vanilla, coconut, tobacco and a bit spicy !
Review by BTHHo 🥃
The taste has notes of salted caramel, baked figs, cloves and dark chocolate. The aftertaste is nicely round and soft
Review by Joachim Guger
Rumfestival 20.09.2024 Bananenbrot, Vanille, getrocknete Früchte und Gewürze. Ausgewogen, handwerklich sehr gut gemacht. Wahrscheinlich so etwas wie das Herz der Mount Gay Range. ❤️🥰 Ich hatte ihn noch nie und war sehr positiv überrascht. Super Einstiegsrum mit Top PLV.
Review by Benoit Mahe
A very round and greedy rum. It lacks a bit of character and complexity, that's for sure, but it remains a very nice product. Between the flan and the crème brûlée.
Review by w00tAN
09/22: Guter Abend mit einem guten Freund dazu ein schöner Rum bei dem man wirklich nichts falsch machen kann. Schön ausgewogen nicht zu süß bei guter Würze und das zu einem sehr vertretbaren Preis Wer etwas mehr Budget hat, dem empfehle ich den Triple Cask Blend, den ich noch gelungener finde.
Review by Oliver
Easy Sipping from BarbadosToo thin. Could use significantly more alcohol.
Review by Johan Larsson
Very pleasant. Barbados feeling. Loads of flavours. Not too boozy and not too sweet. Just a very nice sipper
Review by Piotr Ignasiak
A bit too dry at first, when rested it becomes more balanced and enjoyable. Not too complex though. This is a first bottle of rum i bought a few years ago.
Review by rum_sk
My first time tasting this old bottling of the MG XO. 👃 provides sweet tones of vanilla, caramel, burnt sugar, oak barrels and banana & coconut very faintly. Palate is fairly sweet with caramel, vanilla, chocolate, espresso, oak barrel tones and very lovely touch of spicy notes such as black pepper. Overall, very subtle and great sipping rum. I like this old bottling very much. I need to compare it with the new one as I have the bottle in stash too. I must say that if we are talking Barbados, MG is my brand to go to above them all. Disclaimer note: Used MG XO as a remedy after coconut flavour spirits comparison tasting. Love this old version of XO.
Review by Kieron Wood
This is a great starting place for someone looking at trying more expensive rums . Produced by mount gay I would never expect less then a clean rum that has lovely notes of caramel , suger and bannana.
Review by Henry Davies
It’s a super solid Barbadian rum. Just about mixable without feeling bad but stands up superbly as a 86 proof sipper. Lovely nose, balanced mouth feel and enough complexity to keep it interesting. Lacks the syrupy complexity of the Foursquare ECS series but when in the mood for something less complex and easier to drink it’s one of my go to rums (and one of the best Rum Old Fashioned base’s there is in my view)
Review by Renato
Very woody and rather dry
Review by Alexander Rasch
Im Vergleich zum Trible Cask cremiger und etwas komplexer. Ein schöner einfacher Sipper der hervorragend in Coke funktioniert. Einer meiner ersten Sipper, daher war ich froh noch eine Flasche zu bekommen. Schade das es die Abfüllung nicht mehr im Handel gibt.
Review by Jonathan Paladino
Extraordinario Espectacular alto golpe alcohólico bien balanceado
Review by Surcoup Jean
A good starter rum. Industrial quality but affordable and of a good standard. Very pleasant with dessert. I find Oliver's rating rather harsh. A 69 but it's true that there's better. After a second or third tasting, I'm changing the rating to 80 because I think it's underrated 
Review by Johannes G
Absolute basic rum. No sugar and you can taste it. Really an honest rum. The aroma is slightly fruitier and sweeter than the taste, which is dominated by woody and spicy aromas. A pleasant finish follows. The Mount Gay XO shows how a well-balanced unsweetened rum can taste without a lot of frills. For me, it is one of the best rums in the €40 price segment. I hope the new master blender at Mount Gay Distilleries at least maintains the quality of her predecessors with her new XO, the Triple Cask.
Review by JonasTh
Very tasty. Round flavor, a little sharp. Smells good
Review by Jonas Kofod
Wood and spices. Sweetness in both fruit and caramel tones. Sweetness hits first and then it becomes very dry.
Review by Tyler Griffith
A fairly standard Barbados rum. It's smooth at 43%. Very sippable, could mix as well. I get generic fruit notes, heavy brown sugar/caramel. Solid offering.
Review by pavlix vipax
Jemné, super, kratší koniec, nie pikantné, jemný dub
Review by ChristophFFM
Dry, but too light and one-dimensional. Worse than the Real McCoy 12 I had for comparison.
Review by Hendrik Fröhlich
The rumiest of the Mountgay, more angular and alcoholic, sweeter on the finish.
Review by Julian Würtele
P/L Top und runder Rum ohne zusätzliche Süße. Dieser Rum ist nicht nachgesüßt und daher auch nicht so süß wie die meisten anderen bekannten Marken. Dadurch ein Alleinstellungsmerkmal. Das tut dem Geschmack jedoch keinerlei Abbruch und der Stil ist trotzdem die gleiche Richtung wie die man es mag. Top!
Review by Benoit Bail
A casual rum that's easy to enjoy
Review by Johannes
Ein sehr guter Einsteigerrum!
Review by Trystan Taylor
amazing honestly
Review by JB
Calendrier de l'avent 2020
Review by oldenchild4
“Bourbon-Like” taste
Review by Charlotte & Richard
C not my fave. R Still prefer black barrel
Review by Richard Krupa
Paradni rum, no sugar, krasna vune and chut
Review by stojkin26
Silnejsi, ale velice dobrej
Review by Anonymous
Sanft würzig
Review by KingChip
My first Mount Gay rum. I find it a bit harsh and quite woody.
No reviews match this filter.
Expert reviews
3 critics scored it, averaging 7.9/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
Read full review →Insgesamt sehr harmonisch, vielschichtig und sehr homogen. Der Alkohol ist zwischendrin kurz zu spüren, was aber nicht weiter negativ ins Gewicht fällt. Ein sehr schöner Rum für Einsteiger und Fortgeschrittene.
Expert review by The Rum Barrel Blog
Read full review →
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →However, in my scoring I found personally found a little extra something in the Captain Bligh XO (not even a Bajan but very similar in style). Still MGXO come's very highly recommended. It is a beautiful well balanced classic rum. A must try This rum is available from
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 78 € – 78 €
from 2 sales, latest 11/2024
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 42 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about Mount Gay Extra Old XO Reserve Cask
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Barbados, distilled by Mount Gay, at 43%.
Community purchases
576 bottles logged by 529 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
42% opened, 102 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for Mount Gay Extra Old XO Reserve Cask?
Community paid 28–57 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
576 purchased · 267 tasted · 278 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Ron Zacapa Sistema Solera 23
Ron Zacapa Sistema Solera 23Soft, very sweet caramel-vanilla beginner sipper
Foursquare Doorly's XO Fine Old Barbados Rum
Foursquare Doorly's XO Fine Old Barbados RumEasy, oaky Barbados starter sipper
Flor de Caña Centenario 18 Años
Flor de Caña Centenario 18 AñosSmooth, oaky sipper that drinks light for 18 years
Mount Gay XO - Triple Cask Blend
Mount Gay XO - Triple Cask BlendSmooth, coconut-vanilla everyday Barbados sipper
Mount Gay Black Barrel
Mount Gay Black BarrelDry, woody Barbados rum for mixing
Never miss a price drop.
Set a target price in the app, and we'll let you know as soon as the rum becomes available at that price from one of our partner stores. This works for any rum on your wish list.
Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
What began as my digital tasting diary is now the world's most comprehensive platform for rum fans, today carried by a small team with Jakob, Lukas and Katharina, with Robert supporting us as a freelancer. We combine the collective intelligence of our community with an integrated marketplace, so you can choose with confidence, without paperwork, detours, or expert jargon.
Oliver, Stuttgart
About RumX →YouTube channel (in German)
