Barbancourt 5 Star Reserve Especiale 8-Year

Great stuff lots of flavor good and drinks but actually not bad on its own.

Please don't be fooled, just because this is made from sugarcane juice (as opposed to molasses) and Haitians have a heavy French cultural influence, it's not rhum agricole. It doesn't even remotely resemble it, I'd rather hear someone incorrectly guess a cachaça as a rhum agricole than this. OK, now that this is out of the way...

I consider this to be the best of the Barbancourt lines, it has a good flavor profile that strikes similarities to Spanish-style rums (Think Havana Club 7yr) and some hints of fresh sugarcane, although the ferocity of the true aguardiente is long gone from the barrel ageing process. It's got more body and character than the 4 star, and probably appeals to whiskey/scotch/bourbon drinkers in that it tastes like that barrel. Mmmm, old charred wood.

Recommended straight or on the rocks if you can't score good aged Cuban rums in your sphere of influence (*ahem* USA), or used as a reliable aged rum cocktail ingredient, on the higher proof side, but nowhere near overproofs. It'll add just enough heat without burning...

I would say this is more a mixer than a sipping rum

A bit too much oak for my taste

This is one of my favorite mixers for a rum and coke with mexican coke. Biggest its a dryer rum it goes extremely well with the real sugar in mexican coke. It also has a nice complex flavor that comes with an aged rum. Good for the price

Good. Yet too much of an alcool burn. Not as sweet and vanilla as I like. Missing some molasses and such.

Wrong, noooop, this could be better. Come on now, just say no.

Barbancourt 8 Yr is the rum that made me realize I didn't like agricoles. I call it the Ocitamolpid (reverse Diplomatico) because it is too dry. Too woody and earthy for my taste. I also find that the alcohol taste is emphasized too much. I'd pass on this one.

Цвет - Тёмный янтарь.

Аромат - Сдержанный, влажный, травянисто-тростниковый, слегка спиртуозный, зелёные бананы, шоколад.

Вкус - Маслянистый, слегка водянистый, тростник, шоколад, какой-то усреднённый - по сладости, пряности, мощности, всего понемногу и ничего в итоге, no guts, как говорят наши англоговорящие коллеги.

Послевкусие - С этим вообще плохо, слабое, быстро угасающее, одномерное, тростниково-травяное.

Вывод - Ни рыба ни мясо, не коктейльный, конечно вариант, кола здесь не потребуется, но какой-то особой радости тоже нет от этого рома.

Оценка - 5/10

In all fairness I did not understand what Rhum Agricole is about. So to me this was not as sweet as I prefer and had too much burn with little aftertaste but alcohol.

Nose was funky, the initial scent was actually not very pleasant and did nothing to help the first sip. This rum has a very light taste, almost sweet, without any body, Not a sipper, just ok as a mixer but will probably be okay as a blender. I liked it but there are better options out there in my opinion.

Older bottlings,this actually used to be a really good,smooth,rum.Post earthquake,the recipe appears to have changed.Current version is harsh,very smokey,with a strong alcohol burn.I've tried a few of the newer bottles and have been disappointed everytime.Luckily,I still have a few of the older bottlings.Doing a side by side comparison,they are two completely different rums.Avoid it...

Not a sweet rum. Strong kick. Good taste for sipping. Nice aroma and color as well.

Skvelý agricole rum z Haity za výbornú cenu, vo vôni trocha trávy, či dubového dreva, jemný.

Last night I opened the case of Barbancourt 5 star I had asked my niece to bring me from Haiti last Thanksgiving 2018. I poured a whole bottle in the bowl of Krémas I just made. Normally, 1 bottle should have been more than enough if not overkill for the amount of Krémas I made, but all I got was a thinner Krémas without the taste or smell of rhum. After a 2nd bottle resulted in more Krémas without the benefit of added alcohol, I poured it in a larger container and added a 3rd bottle with more or less the same result that it finally occurred to me that something is definitely wrong with the rhum.
I took an empty bottle to my nose and smelled nothing. I opened a 4th bottle and poured some in a glass. It was almost clear with a hint of amber, the beautiful aroma I’ve always loved was missing and it looked like I added a little rhum to a glass of water which is exactly what it tastes like. It’s really a shame that today I have to go buy some other good rhum in addition to more ingredients to bring the Krémas back to life! Very frustrating and a total waste of money!

Way back in the late eighties during leaner times when travel was preferred over fine rums (which were not even available back then), this was my occasional "luxury" rum. My usual ones in those days were Cruzan Gold, Appleton V/X, and Pusser's Navy Strength. In those days, El Dorado, Diplomatico, Pampero, and the like could not even be found on shelves in my area. The complete Barbancourt line of rhums could easily be found in French speaking Louisiana. They were not cheap, so this here 8 Year Old was always my "luxury rum". I had absolutely no idea back then why the difference in taste was due to it being an agricole rhum aged in Limousin oak casks. I just knew that it was totally different from all of the other rums that I had tried at the time.

So why have I waited so long to try this one again? The reviews that mention smoke and "after the quake" decline in quality threw me off. Recently trying their 15 Year old neat at a bar also did not help. So after carefully studying all of these reviews again, I figured that there was less than a 25% chance that I would wind up with a bottle from a bad batch. I took the $27 gamble on this bottle and brought it home along with two pricey aged rhum agricoles from Martinique. This one easily beat those other two and I really lucked out on my new bottle of Barbancourt.

Just as I remembered it, it is very buttery and delicate with no smoke flavor whatsoever. The burn is kept to a minimal. The aroma is more floral than grassy, as well as the taste. Had I rated this one back then, it would qualify as a perfect 10, but these days I have found many more rums that are better, even if they cost much more.

Not a Grest aroma.The flavour Is compsed by dry fruit and a Little bit of vanilla but the alcool is very dominant.

I don't know if I am being fair with this review since I didn't get a chance to truly appreciate it by itself! I was drinking it along with beer and food, so It was not the main experience. I remember it being very good for the price though, and I would love to try other older Barbancourts!

Doesn't quite make the cut for sipping on but is all right with ice or as a cocktail.

Do no ever try agri rum. Taste like petrol, not good at all.

I was out looking for a good sipper but my local stores were all inexplicably out of anything good so I took a chance on this one based on reviews and my wanting to try another Agricole. The first drink I had was a small neat. It started out mellow enough but suddenly went south and kicked me in the teeth with a very whiskey-like booze taste with heavy oak and grass flavors. Not terrible. Just jarring/unsettling. For round two, I dropped an ice cube into a nice rocks glass, swirled it around with my finger and jumped back in. The ice cube definitely balanced everything out, but it wasn’t until the cube completely melted that I found it pleasantly drinkable. The light amber makes it a good candidate for mixed drinks or blender cocktails. I’ll end up drinking this bottle over time, but it is a really lackluster, anti-climactic drink. A decent price at $28, but nothing I’ll be breaking down doors to buy another bottle of.

Rhum sec avec une finale en longueur. Très bon avec du coke.

Rhum agricole léger, mais pas doux... En bouche, épices, chaleur (alcool), mais un peu court. Nez léger. Sommes toute agréable pour déguster. Sera aussi agréable en cocktail, dans un cocktail mettant le rhum en valeur (plutôt que le masquer).

Nose - vanilla, light banana
Taste - Slight burn, orange, vanilla, oak, slightly grassy

Smooth sipper. Like to use in Mai Tai as a Rhum Agricola substitute.

Definetly an agricole. Very pungently grassy. Excellent for a more herbal rum, which I dont typically enjoy.