Barbados
About rum from Barbados
There are 761 rums from Barbados in the RumX database.
Barbados is a 167 square-mile island in the Lesser Antilles and it’s the most easterly in the Caribbean. Spanish conquerors took hold of the island in the 15th century, and it was under Portuguese rule for a while as well. The island was abandoned in 1620 but reclaimed by the British in 1625; they controlled the Caribbean island for the next three hundred years.
The sugarcane arrived on Barbados in 1640, and the island became a sugar and rum powerhouse fuelled by the slave trade, mainly by plantations worked by enslaved Africans. Barbados is the “birthplace of Caribbean rum”, and the style is inherently British.
Four major distilleries call Barbados home: Foursquare, Mount Gay, St. Nicholas Abbey and West Indies Rum Distillery. The rum style is darker and fuller compared to other Caribbean rums, thanks to higher molasses concentration and the use of pot stills. The rum usually ages in ex-Bourbon barrels for long periods, making the style particularly appealing for whiskey drinkers.
Although column stills are now also used by the island’s rum producers, pot stills are still relevant, differentiating this rum style from others. For reference, Barbados rum is more similar to what you’d find in Jamaica than the rum produced in Spanish- and French-style producing countries — it has no added sugar.
Barbadian rum producers are pushing for their own Geographical Indication, standardising and improving the rum quality and international exposure. Still, producers have yet to agree on what Barbados rum should be and how it should be produced and aged. The future is bright, though, for Barbados rum.
Community author: Oliver
Popular distilleries of Barbados
- Foursquare 355 rums
- West Indies 138 rums
- Mount Gay 75 rums
- Rockley 15 rums
- St. Nicholas Abbey 11 rums
- Multi Distilleries 5 rums
- Ebbe & Flut Brennerei Rügen 2 rums
- Foursquare & West Indies 1 rum
Community reviews
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Flavour profile of Barbados rums
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Top rated Barbados rums
All rums from Barbados
- Maison Ferrand West Indies Plantation Extra Old XO 20th Anniversary, 10 years - 15 years, 40% RX1
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XVII 2009, 2009, 12 years, 60% RX10082
- Mount Gay Extra Old XO Reserve Cask, 15 years, 43% RX15
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XIII 2008, 2008, 12 years, 60% RX3352
- Velier Foursquare Plenipotenziario, 2007, 12 years, 60% RX113
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XIV Détente, 2010, 10 years, 51% RX7623
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection VI 2005, 2005, 12 years, 59% RX50
- Velier Foursquare Sassafras, 2006, 3 years - 11 years, 61% RX7456
- Foursquare Doorly‘s 12 Years, 12 years, 40% RX212
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection X 2007, 2007, 12 years, 59% RX62
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XII Nobiliary, 2005, 14 years, 62% RX362
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XV Redoutable, 14 years, 61% RX8388
- Velier Foursquare Principia, 2008, 3 years - 6 years, 62% RX90
- Maison Ferrand West Indies Plantation Grande Réserve, 1 years - 3 years, 40% RX65
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection III 2004, 2004, 11 years, 59% RX40
- Velier Foursquare Triptych, 12 years, 56% RX126
- Foursquare Doorly‘s 14 Years, 14 years, 48% RX313
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XVI Shibboleth, 2005, 16 years, 56% RX9782
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XI Sagacity, 2007, 12 years, 48% RX254
- Velier Foursquare Patrimonio, 2004, 15 years, 58% RX111
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection VIII Premise, 2008, 10 years, 46% RX169
- Mount Gay XO - Triple Cask Blend, 17 years, 43% RX2067
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection IX Empery, 2004, 14 years, 56% RX100
- Habitation Velier Foursquare Barbados, 2013, 2 years, 64% RX146
- Velier Foursquare Destino, 2003, 14 years, 61% RX53
- N. Kröger Wagemut PX-Cask, <12 years, 40,3% RX436
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XVIII Indelible, 11 years, 48% RX11117
- Mount Gay Black Barrel, 43% RX132
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection VII Dominus, 2008, 10 years, 56% RX63
- Foursquare Doorly’s XO Sherry Finish, 12 years, 40% RX175
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection IV Zinfandel, 2004, 11 years, 43% RX76
- Maison Ferrand West Indies Plantation Barbados 5 Years, 6 years, 40% RX133
- Velier Foursquare 2006, 2006, 3 years - 7 years, 62% RX168
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection XIX Sovereignty, 2007, 14 years, 62% RX11721
- Albert Michler Distillery Austrian Empire Navy Rum Reserve 1863, 40% RX293
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection V Criterion, 2007, 10 years, 56% RX338
- R.L. Seale’s Foursquare Finest Barbados Rum, 10 years, 43% RX209
- Heinz Eggert GmbH West Indies Rum Artesanal Barbados Rum Rockley Style BBR, 1986, 34 years 1mo, 53,7% RX7784
- Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward, 2007, 10 years, 59% RX190
- Mount Gay Eclipse, 7 years, 40% RX200
- Maison Ferrand West Indies Plantation One Time Limited Edition, 2011, 9 years, 51,1% RX7714
- Foursquare Doorly’s XO Fine Old Barbados Rum, 8 years, 43% RX6813
- Habitation Velier Mount Gay Last Ward, 2009, 9 years, 59% RX582
- Foursquare The Real McCoy 12 Years, 12 years, 40% RX310
- Foursquare Doorly‘s 12 Years, 12 years, 43% RX8515
- Foursquare Private Cask Selection Hereditas (The Whisky Exchange), 4 years - 10 years, 56% RX424
- Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection II Port Cask Finish, 2005, 9 years, 40% RX329
- Tastillery CINECANE Popcorn Rum Gold, 12 years, 41,2% RX321
- Velier Mount Gay Warren Khong Mount Gilboa, 2008, 9 years, 66% RX202
- Foursquare Private Cask Selection Diadem (The Whisky Exchange), 12 years, 60% RX7158