Aroma visualization from community tastings
Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward 2009
Most people rate this a genuinely good, quality Barbados pot-still, but plenty admit the palate doesn't quite match the nose. Expect vanilla, oak, sweet spice and pepper, marzipan and a solvent/glue edge, with tropical fruit underneath. Drier and more herbal than a typical Foursquare, and the 59% can read sharp — a few drops of water help most tasters open it up.
The community says- Complex, inviting nose
- Real Bajan character
- But: Alcohol not integrated
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Was 156.99 €, now 133.80 € All price drops
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Buy Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward 2009:
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The look inside the bottle
How does Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward 2009 taste?
Aggregated from 107 community reviews.
Dry, spicy Barbados with a solvent edge Well-liked Bajan pot still: complex nose, spicy woody palate, natural sweetness. Common gripes are a slightly disjointed alcohol, some bitterness and a metallic finish. Water helps.
Fans of dry, spicy Barbados pot-still bottled at strength
People wanting a soft, sweet, easy sipper
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
41 of 107 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
Your next rum
One difference each to this rum.
Rated better
Velier Mount Gay Last Ward Barbados (Pure Single Rum) 2007
8.6/10224 €
More intense
Mount Gay Rumclub Private Selection Ed. 23 BMMG 2000
8.1/10169 €
Similar rating, cheaper
Velier Beenleigh Fine Australian Rum 2013
8.2/1068 €First choice: 21 of 27 tasters who tried both prefer it.
How is Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward 2009 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.3 sits in the “Very good” band. 95% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
85% rate it 8 or higher. 33 selected write-ups from 107 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful positive review
Retasting this one on a regular basis and today I enjoy it again. A lovely rum from nose to finish. Got this one today and it is a wonderful rum well worth the price tag. Slightly dry in the finish but great overall from nose to finish.
Review by Rodolphe
Most helpful mixed review
Compared with the 2007, it's the same but without the citrus and menthol on the nose, although the bitterness of the wood is very much present. It's much more classic Barbados. I'm a little disappointed by the palate, which I find a little thin, very crushed by the bitterness of the wood. A clear win for the 2007.
Review by Clément Boetto🤤🇫🇷
The nose is fruity and complex, but in the mouth I find it backward with an alcohol not very well integrated
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
Lots of wood, very spicy to peppery. Pleasant, not too sweet vanilla. Some banana, but not overripe and a few herbs. The alcohol remains a bit edgy, but not unpleasant. Liked.
Review by Basti
Nase wird nach ca. 1 Std runder. Der Alkohol und die fruchtigen Noten sind weniger präsent und eine leicht rauchige/ledrige Note tritt hervor. Geschmack dann völlig untypisch für alles was ich von Mount Gay kenne, mit einer beißenden Note, die mir nicht zusagt. Qualitativ sicherlich ein top Rum, jedoch nicht mein Geschmack. Mir gefallen andere Mount Gays aus durchsichtigen Flaschen deutlich besser. Edit 2. Verkostung: Besser, aber immer noch nicht mein Profil. Die Nase ist tatsächlich noch ganz ansprechend, aber am Gaumen kann er mich einfach nicht überzeugen.
Review by Jakob
This has long been my favorite from Mount Gay. Compared to other representatives of the distillery, I like the slightly more pronounced caramel sweetness here, which makes for an overall more harmonious basic aroma. Accessible rum at a high quality level.
Review by DomM
Intense and more on the spicy side than expected. Alcohol is not integrated perfectly, however. A few drops of water help to mitigate.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A powerful rum that develops beautiful notes of glue at first, then continues on spicy (chili) and woody notes before plunging to soft notes of marzipan and toffee and finishing towards a more fruity register. Still intense in the mouth, the rum keeps a slightly fruity profile, but mostly dominated by spicy and woody notes, with a hint of vegetal, toasted and leather aromas. The finish, quite long, reveals tannins and some bitterness brought by licorice, but retains the same spicy, woody and leather profile with a touch of herbs and caramel. An intense and dry rum that represents its distillery as it should.
Review by Timo Groeger
Ja dies ist definitiv ein sehr solider Rum. Wir haben hier Holz, Würze und auch Kräuter in der Nase. Am Gaumen gibt es dann Vanille, Karamell, Holz, sowie auch etwas Würze. Ganz ok, aber nix besonderes dieser Rum.
Review by Lukas Jäger
Exciting rum with a great nose, but poorly integrated alcohol! The nose makes me extremely keen on the rum and comes across as very complex. In addition to glue, I primarily have pineapple and marzipan, which are only slightly muted by the very present and slightly pungent alcohol. The palate is much woodier, more astringent and with a slight cherry note. Here too, however, the very present alcohol inhibits the enjoyment somewhat. All in all, an exciting rum, with the nose slightly ahead of the palate and with a slightly better integrated alcohol, in my opinion definitely a candidate for more than 8.5 points. For me, it just scrapes this mark.
Review by Mathieu C.
Nez : boisé fin en fond, fruits tropicaux, et dominance d'arômes sucrés et pâtissiers (pâte d'amande, crème brûlée, caramel, vanille, pâtisserie) puis fruits à coque Nez extrêmement gourmand ! Bouche : très intense, chaude, ronde, gourmand, boisé, pâtissier Bonne longueur
Review by cigares
Day 22 of the Samples de Luxe calendar. Tobacco and herbal aromas, tropical fruits and varnished wood. Lots of aromas here. The palate is a little duller, although the alcohol is well integrated and everything is balanced. The finish is medium-bodied and the varnished wood aromas come back strongly. A fine rum straddling the line between funky Jamaican and dark, deep Demerara.
Review by Righrum
A good Mount Gay, not the better one but a good expression indeed. The usual profile is always there, the nose driven by almonds, marzipan and solvent, and is consistent also when drinking. A good one
Review by Santo
Un peu trop herbacée réglissé et mentholé pour moi et je trouve l'alcool pas bien intégré . Mais dans l'ensemble c'est un bon rum
Review by Florent Apl
Edit: comparing it to the last ward 2007 from velier. The habitation velier one is sweeter and last tanich się to it's younger age, but alcohol is more sharp. The glue/metallic note is also more present on the velier bottling. I'm still very happy with this one, and I think the last wards are definitely something to check out, way better than the Mount Gay usual range. On the nose, there are the typical sweet spices of Barbados, vanilla, a medium oaky note, neither too young nor too old, and a slight hint of chili pepper. It's less sweet than what you might get from a Foursquare ECS. The first taste is woody, spices, less sweet this time, and fruit that appears. Coming back to it, it's spices, even nuts, that come to mind. The alcohol is present; I wouldn't say it's poorly integrated, but the alcohol level is noticeable. As I keep coming back to it and moving further into the green, I now have olives, even green beans; it goes in all directions. The finish is long and bitter, with spices again, but this time with a herbaceous bitterness, the chili pepper still present, then the vanilla gently resurfaces and brings a slight sweetness to the whole. This is a drier rum than what I'm used to tasting in Barbados. It's complex, not easy to grasp, but I'm very happy to have a bottle.
Review by Michael Schillheim
Anfänglich chemische Komponenten, wie Lösungsmittel und Klebstoff in der Nase. Gefolgt von tropischen Früchten, Holz, Gewürzen und Kräutern. Am Gaumen gibt sich der Last Ward trocken, intensiv und komplex. Pflanzliche und holzigen Aromen, Vanille, Kräuter, Gewürze. Leider auch etwas bitter. Der Nachklang gibt sich weiterhin würzig mit einer Kräuternote. Aber die Bitterkeit, die sich am Gaumen ankündigte, setzt sich im Nachklang fort und endet leider metallisch, was dem 2009er Last Ward leider ein paar Punkte kostet.
Review by Michael Ihmels 🇩🇪
Hier ein sehr schöner Mount Gay Habitation Velier. In der Nase bereits sehr fruchtig, Birne, Aprikose, Apfel, orange und diese kommen auch im Geschmack zur Geltung. Alkohol ist hier sehr gut eingebunden.
Review by FischeJ
Irgendwie empfinde ich den sehr alkoholisch, selbst nach langem Atmen. Ansonsten schöne Würze, Karamell. Vanille und Holz. Sehr adstringierend und etwas Bitter hinten raus.
Review by Thunderbird
The nose rises caramel with light spicy notes! In the background ripe orange! Overall, very gentle and noble. Alcohol is barely noticeableOn the palate initially caramel, young wood with pepper, slightly toasted out the back! The alcohol is perfectly integrated. In the finish, the spicy slightly woody notes predominate! This is but relatively short!A pleasant tasty Barbados
Review by Schnubbii
Schönes Profil, schöne Süße, dazu leicht bitter und harzig, aber nicht unangenehm. Dennoch nichts, was mich vom Hocker haut.
Review by Benoit Mahe
C'est bien fait mais le profil de cette bouche ne m'a pas plu. Dommage car le nez annonçait de belles choses.
Review by ilRummista
Naso eccezionale! Palato molto interessante. Uno dei miei Habitation Velier preferiti! Grande prodotto!
Review by passlemix
Gomme gomme. Un coté trés WP au nez. Manque de fruit. J'aime bien mais c'est pas wahou même si le côté amande / financier me plaît bien. Une pointe d'amertume un chouille trop présente pour moi.
Review by Peder Frits Nielsen
A fantastic rum. The relatively high alcohol-percentage gives you “bang for the bucks” but in a very tasteful way. The natural sweetness actually makes this rum very harmonic 😋
Review by w00tAN
Guter Rum mit hoher Komplexität aber in der Preisklasse gibt es große und sehr starke Konkurrenz daher nur ein gut.
Review by Rum Runner Labs - Will
In many ways very classic Barbados. On the nose there’s plenty of vanilla and oak, but a subtle herbaceousness as well, and gentle red fruits. On the palate there’s vanilla, oak, spice, as well as some dried pineapple and something a little metallic—a little like sticking a penny in your mouth. Strong finish sticking to profile.
Review by Stijn Zino
I'm tasting this Whisky Jury Mount Gay and Mount Gilboa next to eachother. What a nice tasting. Out of this 3 this one is the most complex. Nice balance between fruit and wood. More herbal in the mouth with a pleasant sweetness. Long finish. Recommend this one.
Review by David
A superb peppery fruit salad!
Review by David Heraty
Nose: Plum, grape, anise, slightly medicinal, rose water, kiwi, raisin, wood varnish Mouth: Plum, almond/marzipan, anise, strawberry, light diesel, cherry Finish: Very gradual burn and rising flavour intensity which slowly fades into a medium to long finish What a wonderful Bajan expression. I'm not overly familiar with many Mount Gay expressions, but this really stands on its own against their island competitor Foursquare's style. Really lovely flavours and very noticeable punchy character. I think Frank was really onto something with this distillation. An absolute quality rum to savour.
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
🟤 HV Mount Gay Last Ward 2009 – 59% Un assemblage de rhums distillés en alambic Mac Millan, un procédé unique de triple distillation, tous distillés en 2009. Vieillissement 9 ans sous climat barbadien en fûts ex-bourbon, puis embouteillé par Velier à 59 % (4488 bouteilles – donc encore trouvable sans vendre un rein). Le nom rend hommage à la famille Ward, propriétaires historiques de Mount Gay jusqu’au rachat par Cointreau en 1989. Petit rappel : Mount Gay = la plus ancienne marque de rhum au monde (1703). Dans l’esprit du Warren Khong 2008, et clairement à mon goût. 👉 Nez fruité et complexe 👉 Bouche plus boisée, épicée (poivre), avec une trame vanillée et quelques notes herbacées 👉 Verdict : j’aime beaucoup ✔️
Review by Philip M. 🇧🇪
21/01/2026: tasting at home. Decent Mount Gay with dry, spicy and woody notes. The nose is very promising, but the palate is a bit of a let down for me. It's rather sharp and adding a few drops of water is advised. Nevertheless, happy to sip it because the quality can't be denied.
Review by Anonymous
Tastes like cherry cola for some reason
Review by Sebastiaan Linssen
Tasted at German rum festival Good rum.
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Expert reviews
3 critics scored it, averaging 8.4/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by The Secret Rum Bar
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Expert review by Rum nagykövet
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Expert review by L'amateur éclairé
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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 79 € – 102 €
from 11 sales, latest 08/2026
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 117 €
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 Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward 2009
A Pot Still Rum from Barbados, bottled by Habitation Velier, at 59%.
Community purchases
185 bottles logged by 164 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
23% opened, 15 emptied and repurchased.
What does Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward 2009 cost?
Community paid 80–133 €.
Current best price: 109.80 € – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
+6 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
185 purchased · 109 tasted · 41 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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