Barbancourt 5 Stars 8 Years Réserve Spéciale

A rum tasted at the Lucerne Gin and Rum Festival 2024. A nose of bitter root, like gentian, but also sugar, yellow fruit and a herbaceous side. The palate is very bitter and alcoholic, a gentian spirit? But also with a sweet/honey side. The finish is short, leaving only bitterness in the mouth. To the untrained eye, you'd think it was a slightly sweet root liqueur rather than a rum. That said, it's pleasant on the palate and well made. I like it less than the 4-year-old.

A light rum, mainly driven by sugar and caramel notes. Great price to quality, as I paid 20€ for a bottle, this could be a great entry level for beginners while rum lovers could skip it, the sweetness is too relevant and almost artificial (even if I do not think this rum does have any additive)

Super rhum, vraiment de qualité, il vaut son prix. Un must have pour un collectionneur de rhum ou qui veut avoir une bonne cave à proposer !

A bottle given by my sister for Christmas 2024. On the nose, quite flattering on fruit with baked apple, with a little vanilla and grey pepper. The palate is quite strong in alcohol, with an integration of the alcohol that could have been better. Few aromas apart from light vanilla and a tiny bit of oak. A very ephemeral finish that leaves nothing memorable. Not much to say about this rum, which remains pleasant but forgettable.

Considering the price tag you get a lot for your money. Beautiful colour with fruity caramel nose and sweet on the palate. Could be a good beginner rum i think.

Vegetal. Meady. Not my style

I tried this rum at a local bar… Very sweet, round, soft and spicy rum. I didn’t like it much, because it’s not the kind of rum I’ used to drink. I can recommend it to beginners or guys who want to make the next step 😜 Also the alcohol isn’t integrated well.

What’s weird rum…. I thought my senses were off because the nose is so tight, there was nothing coming off it…. Smelt of slight vegetal grass, spice and oak, that’s it…. Added a couple of drops of water and it was hazy for a moment which was nice to see but made no difference to the flavour Just bland, generic spirit - it’s borderline flavourless, like vodka… Can’t really get behind this one - to gentle a flavour for me…. Maybe the 43% ABV is what’s killing it because it’s rather bland

Dégusté au salon Rhum Fest Paris, notes partielles. EDIT : trop simple et pas assez long. C’est plutôt amusant, je n’ai pas de points de comparaison avec d’autres barbancourt dans mon souvenir. Globalement trop acqueux et un peu d’alcool quand même pour ce degrés là, mais sinon on a un nez melon/pasteque puis une bouche carrément sur les épices, il n’y a presque que ça…

Rhum assez inexistant surtout au nez. Bouche, assez plate. La longueur est moyenne à courte, sec, épicé .

Flavor very thin, but alcohol better integrated.

Tragedie to i ta 4y je lepsi jak osmicka

Its low price and simplicity make it a good starter for someone new to rum. Still, it's a little alcoholic and slightly spicy. But it also offers some pleasant palettes of grassy vanilla sugar. I preferred it to the 15 ans

Burn. Wood with peppery finish. Then it’s gone. Lingering barrel.

Something I keep on hand as a mixer, but lets see how it stands up on its own. On the nose and in the mouth a mellow, but flat profile. Sparse dried fruits, burnt sugar and barrel notes. Mineralic with rainwater, but really no complexity and nothing to excite the senses.