Barcelo Imperial Premium Blend 30 Aniversario

This is my 300th rating on RumRatings (I've rated rums from the exquisite to the vile) so I'm taking the opportunity to rate a very special rum I purchased several months ago. To get me in the mood, I'm listening to Bahamian music via http://www.portnassauwebcam.com/ (you can also listen to the music directly from the radio station at https://www.bahamianornuttin.com/) and watching live video of the Port of Nassau.

Now let's begin...

First off, this rum has a rich mahogany turning to an amber on the edges. Swirling the rum in my snifter reveals excellent legs. The aroma is fantastic. It's flavor is complex with an oakiness from tannins and I get the taste of vanilla, toffee, spicy pepper, black cherry, and a slight wine flavor. It has a bit of a bite to it due to the 43% ABV (86 proof) but the burn fades quickly leaving a finish of the oak tannins as well as the vanilla & toffee. This an awesome rum that I believe would be appreciated by those who enjoy bourbon as well as hardcore rum aficionados. Each bottle is hand-numbered. My bottle is # 2072 and was bottled in 2014. This rum is pricey but worth it and should only be consumed on special occasions. Like a 300th rating.

Now I'm going to kick back with another snifter of the rum while listening to Bahamian music. Have a good night, folks.

[NOTE: To those who ask why I don't rate it a 10. Well to me, a 10 means a PERFECT rum and I do not believe such a rum exists. The late, great Vince Lombardi once said, “Gentlemen, we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence.” And that sums up my personal philosophy for rum.]

I was actually quite shocked when I tried this, having tried a majority of high end rums this one just didn't do it for me. Way too harsh, just taking a sip felt like a shot of jameson! Aftertaste is not as pleasant and long lasting as other rums aged that long. However the price is OK and the presentation is very nice. Overall I'd say keep one in your bar collection and don't bother opening the bottle.

I was hoping for a big surprise with a fancy bottle and case but for a 30 year old I was disappointed. It has a kick to it but I rather pay a cheaper price for a better taste. Just because it is more expensive doesn’t mean it will taste great. A lot of fancy bottling but just doesn’t get it. Maybe it has been sitting in the wrong barrel or something.

I bought it because a Total Wine and Spirits gave it a high rating. I will finish it but won’t give it away for a Christmas gift.

The package that this rum comes in is high class and good looking. A beautiful bottle that comes with a small wooden stand.

On the nose you get sweet aromas of vanilla, toffee, roasted nuts and spice. At first you sense some sticky alcohol but when the rum have been resting for a while in the glass you get the nice and sweet aromas.

In mouth you taste dried fruit, chocolate, oak and some spice. This rum is a bit harsh with some bite from the alcohol. The aftertaste is long and spicy with some oak, vanilla and chocolate.

This rum isn't 30 years old as many think. it is like 12ish. It's just a limited version and carefully blended, aged a few years after normal procedure in french sweet wine casks i think. But anyway, a very nice one if you don't need to do maths. You get 4-5 bottles of Barcelo Imperial ...and its not 5times better

Tabacco, chocolate with dried fruit.Coffee and leather notes. A very long aftertaste, this rum was formated for cigar lovers. Complex but not enough for me. Real rate : 8.5

I'm surprised at the low score of this rum (only 7.6 as of this review). If I were to guess why the score is low, I'd say it's either because this is a little strong for some at 43%, or they're mixing it with something like coke. But this works great straight for me; it would pair well with a fine cigar.

Has a very nice smell and taste of caramel, vanilla, spice, and honey. I read this was aged in Sauternes barrels, and I can see that contributing to the sweet taste.

I really like this rum; I'm glad I bought a bottle!

I think it is a very good rum. Maybe over aged. I don´t believe the aging is actually doing any better here. I would just bottle it earlier and sell it cheaper. Would consider buying again but at a lower price.

Sugar: 16 to 20 GPL. This is not a 30 year old rum. From what I can find out it's a mixture of rums between 10 and 14 years old. I believe this is the best rum that Barcelo produces, and it's the best I have had from the Dominican to date. In the glass it has the aroma of wood, almonds, and honey-caramel. For taste I detect oak, some spices like nutmeg and vanilla, and sweet caramel. It's smooth to drink and has a nice warm finish. The aroma and taste have great potential but it just seems to be lacking in Complexity of taste and the Wow factor you would expect from the price and presentation. I give it an 9.0 for overall taste and a half point for the bottle. It's not a 10 but after a few more taste comparisons it might get pushed up to a 10. It's definitely worth having on your shelf.

Up until recently diplomatico has been one of my favourites with Santa Teresa being right up there too. Now that I've tasted this simply splendid Dominican rum I can honestly say it is so smooth, so well-balanced, with just the right amount of sugar, fruit flavour, caramel, that it's simply one of the finest rums that this guy has tasted to date. I will most definitely be making another trip to the Dominican republic if only to secure one, maybe two more bottles of this sweet nectar. If you get the opportunity do not deny yourself, you won't regret it.

I've had this bottle in my collection for about 7 years now. It's number 4281 from the year 2011. Thought I would be treating myself with some delicious stuff today, but I was wrong!!
Way too harsh for me. My first sip felt like drinking whiskey because of the burn. I can imagine some people would love this one, but for me it just doesn't work!

More complex and better than Barcelo Imperial. But not comparable with flagship rums from other producers and overpriced. Confusing label - NOT 30y old, but prepared for 30y anniversary.

Great tasting rum, beautifully desiged bottle. I am not really a fan of Barcelo rums but this is one is worth having in any collection. If you see it grab it is delicious.

Barcelo Imperial Premium Blend 30 Aniversario - very good

This is not 30 years old as someone commented, but it is still a very rich taste.
Complex flavor, creamy caramel, vanilla and chocolate etc.
Typical nice spanish style rum.

Ром из Доминиканской республики, пусть вас не смущает цифра 30 на бутылке, она не имеет никакого отношения к выдержке, это даже не солера. Выдерживался в бочках из американского белого дуба и французского дуба, собранных из дерева различной степени обжига, затем финиш в бочках из-под сотерна Château d'Yquem.

Цвет - Чёрный чай.

Аромат - Средней плотности, со свежими, пряными нотками зелени, которые в пределе дают аромат похожий на солёное сало с чесноком, но здесь только зачатки, жжёный сахар, тростник, карамель, манго, бананы, кожгалантерея, трубочный табак - я ждал от него более десертного профиля.

Вкус - Здесь чуть больше десертных нот, но всё же к десертным я бы его не отнёс, травянистые оттенки, свежесть, лёгкая кислинка, в развитии проявляются древесные тона, капучино.

Послевкусие - Пряное, длительное,травяное, кисло-сладкое, манго, немного цитрусовых, табак, помадка.

Вывод - Очень приятный, живой ром на стыке десертных и травяных направлений, по сладости довольно умеренный.
По цене, как я понимаю, примерно соответствует Zacapa XO, по качеству на том же уровне.

Оценка - 9/10

Really smooth rum... Complex flavours, caramel-like aftertaste and cont feel strong alcohol prescence. Best I’ve had.

aged in white oak and previous Bordeaux wines. Very smooth pleasant aroma. Taste is moderately sweet, with the white wine character coming through strong. Delicious, but prefer a deeper and more complex rum at this price. 88+

This is one of my favorites. Very smooth but with an edge. Not too oaky

En fornuftig rom med en hæderlig smag. Der var langt ned til flasken efter købet. Alt det ekstra rundt om flasken tror jeg er grunden til at flasken har en høj pris

Sweet solera with a slight coffee aroma and taste, a bit pricy for sure.

An outstanding sipping rum. I bought this on a chance and am really impressed; for about $120 this is a great cabinet addition that can consumed regularly and replenished. It comes with a nice wood stand too. It is a beautiful bottle that can be front and center in your cabinet.

La presentación es demasiada para el contenido, a mi humilde parecer es un ron bueno, pero nada extraordinario. De sabor agradable, pero ligeramente flojo y poco cuerpo, y de ligera densidad.

Luxusné a precízne balenie ako celok, všetko bolo zabalené v potlačenej kartónovej krabici, v ktorej sa nachádzal plechový obal a v ňom už samotný rum aj s dreveným odnímateľným podstavcom. Podľa mňa tento rum absolútne právom spadá do kategórie ultra premium. Jedinú maličkosť, čo by som vyhodil je syntetický korok. Rum má tmavohnedú, jantárovú farbu, vo fľaši skoro až do červena. Po naliatí do pohára a chvíľke postátia sa uvoľnia tóny vanilky, čokolády, karamelu, či sušeného ovocia. Výborná vôňa. Chuť nijako nezaostáva, je veľmi vyvážená a hladká. Nie je ani moc sladký, ani moc suchý. Povedal by som, že dokonale kopíruje aromatické vnemy. Dlhý záver s náznakmi dubového dreva, v ktorom tento rum dlhé doky zrel. Rum stvorený pre nevšedné príležitosti alebo ako slušný dar a môžem ho každému len vrelo odporučiť.