Clement Select Barrel

Not my first agricole but I am no connaisseur either. On the nose there is alcohol, a creamy vanilla fudge and a lot of green stuff; herbs, flowers and grass. On the palate it is a bit timid and a tad sweet. The vanilla fudge remain present as well as the herbs and grasses. It starts out as very green/fresh and ends in more dry woody notes with a bit of pine and tobacco notes. It is very harmonious and pleasant despite the fact that the alcohol is clearly present; not harsh but undeniable there.

The flavours are matching perfectly but are not very strong, this rum is everything but pungent, still this is a pleasant sip with a lot to discover.

- vůně jemná, příjemná, nasládlá vanilka, cukrová třtina
- chuť jemná agricole, vanilka, koření je o něco víc cítit než ve vůni
Velmi příjemné agricole 👏

But not as memorable as their VSOP.

However, really engaging sipping rum, give some to your whiskey drinking friends or other agricole neophytes.

After giving a rave review to Select Barrel about a year ago, and trying it again last week, I should considerably downgrade my rating and also to warn other guys. The last year bottle was purchased in the Duty Free shop in France. While this time I got it in the Dubai Duty Free upon departure.
It's like I was tasting 2 completely different drinks. Tastewise the bottle purchased recently is totally different from the one purchased in 2019, it tastes extremely harsh and lacks any aroma, but testes like cheap whiskey or bourbon, forget about to sip it, even mixing with a coke doesn't help much.
Moreover, the more expensive Clement Very Old Rhum had obvious sediments in the bottle.
It looks like the Clement's quality control sucks.
I would avoid buying anything from this company from now on, since the quality is not consistent. There are way better options on the market at the same price, or even at lower cost.

This is my review from last year: "Very balanced and easy to drink. A bit of sweetness in the palate makes it an excellent companion with a light-medium bodied cigar like Quai d'Orsay 50 or Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure 2."

A decent bang for your buck. Floral and grassy both on the nose and the tongue. Although it’s a tad harsh neat. I use this in cocktails both as a component in a Mai Tai (with Plantation Xaymaca) and it goes great in a 3 Dots and a Dash. The little bit of zing really helps in my opinion.

Rhum qui se laisse boire mais tout de même assez quelconque.

So as a first experience with (sippable) agricoles, I head towards Clément in this particular offering.
Nose is engaging, briny, grassy as expected from an agricole, but with noticeable new oak character, clearly reminiscent of bourbon in that particular aspect. Woody, some mild tart fruitiness also present (apples). Just a couple drops of water open up the earthiness, hitherto very residual, building complexity.
In mouth has a fresh "opening" and a very dry woody character. Eucalyptus in finish, the flavour complexity is impressive, it definitely stands out. I wonder what this would be like at higher strength - I can't help but feel the 40% waters down what would have been an amazing sipping rhum. Reminiscent of Highland malts, with that crispness and freshness. For the price range, excellent sipper; again, if only it had been bottled at 45%+, that could have been very very good - I wonder if there are any independent bottlers? I can see many parallels to whiskies in the flavour profile, but the agricole signature is still very much clear. I would therefore say it's a positive feature.
Really good for the price range, good sipper.

Nez léger, pas fort en alcool
Notes subtile et fruitées. Un petit goût whisky
Légère note d'amertume en fond de bouche
Agréable surprise vu la gamme de prix.

Good Agricole rum, hints of bourbon, very sour, not my favorite type of rum but would sip from time to time just to appreciate rum in its different forms.

Clement is a very known producer of agricole rum. Their blanc is my go to white rum, so I was exited to try this Select Barrel. It did not disappoint.

Nose: Oak, tobacco, coffee, vanilla and a slight vegetal funk
Taste: Smooth taste of vanilla, apricot, caramel, rosemary and spearmint
Overall: Not a bad bottle from Clement, but it is a bit to smooth for me. When it comes to agricole I prefer my rum to have a bit more bite. It is however a very good entry bottle for people getting to know the style of agricole rum.