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Barbancourt 5 Star Reserve Especiale 8-Year Rum is agricultural, meaning it's produced from fermented sugar cane juice rather than the more typical molasses. The sugar cane juice is double distilled and aged for eight years in Limousin oak barrels.
Dupré Barbancourt created the Barbancourt rum recipe in 1862 in Haiti, where the rum is still produced today. A French national, Barbancourt incorporated traditional French methods including double-distillation in the process.
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Posted
almost 8 years ago
Excellent on all fronts for sub $30. Bottled at 43% which makes it a great sipper. If I were to fault it I would say it's a bit generic and lacking a wow factor. But really it's far to good and enjoyable at it's price point to care about such a minor and petty thing.
It’s also an all around brown rum substitute. It can be perfectly used in any drink that calls out for brown rum.
Posted
over 8 years ago
Vic's recipe, according to B. Berry, calls for 2 rums: an aged agricole and a dark Jamaican. (There is some confusion about whether Barbancourt is truly an agricole, but the label says "100% sugar cane rum" and that's close enough for my standards). There isn't enough character or complexity for this to be a top-notch, stand-alone sipper, but it deserves respect (and an 8) for making authentic Mai-Tais shine like the sun.
Posted
9 years ago
a pesar de que no es el de 15 años, llena todas las expectativas de los conocedores roneros
Posted
over 9 years ago
I found this has a distinct taste compared to D.R. Rums, must be something in the distillation or aging process. Still a fairly good drink when mixed, but not a lot of complex on its own.
This Rum was my absolute favourite for more than 12 years. 2024 I bought a bottle but the taste is completely disappointing, like the cheapest shitty stuff in a supermarket.
Sharp, all the fine aromes I know from before have gone. I‘m sure the destillation process has changed! Quality has gone to zero, price has gone up a lot!!!
If you find an older bottling, buy it, this was perfect.
Posted
9 months ago
Dette bliver nok aldrig en af mine favorit rum. Men har været fin at smage. jeg bruger den oftest til cocktail
Posted
almost 2 years ago
I really like this one, definitely more mature than the 4-year sibling. Has that same sweetness as the younger one, mild spice, very little alcohol burn, including on the nose. I detect very little of it being an "agricole" style rum. I don't detect except for the faintest hint of this on the nose. Light woodiness - perfect for me, though a bit more would be totally acceptable too. A bit of pleasant bitterness in the relatively short finish. Worthy of sipping in my book!
Posted
almost 3 years ago
I got to try this as part of my Rum Ratings Club membership. I prefer their 15 year, which I'm not such a huge fan of either.
A relatively dry rum, which smells and tastes of oak and leather, with light floral notes. Nothing too exciting to me.
Posted
over 3 years ago
One of the smoothest rums I've had the pleasure to taste. Nice and complex in flavor and balance and supremely approachable for rum novices. You'll get your money's worth either sipping neat or in a cocktail.
Posted
over 3 years ago
Really nice rum. Not particulary floral despite its origin. Vanilla, caramel and woody to the taste. Easy to drink. Works neat but also great in a cocktail as an alternative to a full blown Agricole.
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Just as I remembered it from 30 years ago
6
/10
out of 10
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.