There is a lot of exceptional rum out there to choose from, and Mount Gay has been responsible for a fair share of it. The Barbados distillery proved that it can also be “exceptionally aged” with the introduction of its first ever age-statement expressions, a pair of rums matured for 15 and 25 years in the tropical climate on this Caribbean island. We got to sample both, and they are superb.

The 15 and 25-year-old rums are part of the new Exceptionally Aged series. To be clear, that’s a long time for a rum to age in a tropical climate, as the interaction between wood and spirit is intensified by the heat and humidity (the angel’s share ranges between 6 and 15 percent annually, according to a rep for the brand). As mentioned before, this is a first for this over 300-year-old distillery located in St. Lucy, Barbados, and a significant addition to the portfolio.

“The Exceptionally Aged Collection is a profound tribute to the 320 years of heritage and to the generations of blenders before me who possessed the vision to lay down these incredible rums,” said master blender Trudiann Branker in a statement. “With both the 15 and 25-year-old, we chose to honor that original vision by ageing them exclusively in ex-bourbon casks, resulting in a desired intensity and complexity that beautifully matches the heritage we are so proud to carry.”

Former master blender Jerry Edwards distilled the 15-year-old on a single column still and, as Branker mentioned, it was aged entirely in ex-bourbon barrels in Barbados before being bottled without chill filtration at 43 percent ABV (86 proof). It’s the sweeter of the two, but not overly sweet by any means, with notes of oak, maple, banana, pineapple, cherry, vanilla, dark chocolate, and raisin on the palate. The 25-year-old was distilled in 1999 on a column still, also by Edwards, and these barrels were monitored by his successor, Allen Smith, and then Branker. This rum spent a quarter century aging in American oak ex-bourbon barrels, and is the drier of the two with notes of black pepper, tannic oak, butterscotch, orange, dark roast espresso, crème brûlée, licorice, and menthol. The 25, also non-chill filtered, is bottled at 47 percent ABV (94 proof), and that higher proof goes a long way to unlocking the flavor here.

Both rums are available now in limited numbers at select retailers, and are actually priced pretty affordably considering their age statements and limited production. Exceptionally Aged 15 is being released in a run of 4,942 bottles with a suggested retail price of $90, while Exceptionally Aged 25 is limited to 2,376 bottles with a suggested retail price of $199. You can find the rest of the Mount Gay collection at websites like ReserveBar now.