Barbancourt 5 Star Reserve Especiale 8-Year

An 8 year old Rhum Agricole that has more in common with molasses based Rum than the Martinque style Rhum produced from fermented sugar cane juice.

Appearance is light golden. Honey like sweetness aromas & vanilla. Overall a more molasses based notes on the taste with some vegetable/grassy (agricole like) notes nearer the end. An oaky peppery finish.

This is a great entry for those that want to move into agricole style rhums. Amazing value for money. I like this a lot and it makes a great Haitian (Barbacourt) Sazerac.

J'adore ce rhum pour les drink. Excellent. Pas trop sur l'alcool.

Fara pretentii, un rom tanar, simplu, cu arome slab conturate. Probabil in mix-uri e bun..

This is a interesting stuff, very fresh, vegetables, suave, almonds, nuts and herbal. Good aftertaste

Nice marriage between wood and cane, fruits and oak.

Just ok. It's smooth but just not as flavorful as other rums I that price range. I think I will stick with the Barbados and Jamaican rums.

What can I say about this. I mean, I really didn't know what to expect about this one, after trying the 4 before this I drank 2 or 3 glasses of water to rinse my mouth out before pushing through to the next sample. I did notice a significant difference from the 4 and 8. Mostly because this one wasn't just an earthy harshness as the 4 was. This rum has a raw spice to if with sweet tones masked underneath. Not a bad rum, just not at all my style. Needs and ice cube however.

This was one of my experimental bottles. Good rum in a crowded price point. It holds it's own but does not stand out. I'm not a connoisseur but I drink a fair amount of aged rum. This one is fine but so are a lot of others.

Nice rum. I prefer the darker rums but had the opportunity to sample it.

As a regular Barbencourt 4 star drinker, I thought I'd try the 5 star. This is some fine rum but the 5 star starts to tase a little oaky. A flavor I don't care for that's why I drink Run not Whisky.

Trust me daddy...you don't mess with thiz bottle. Go from 0 to a 100 degrees real quick. Hot product and proudly haiyian made.

This would be a great place to start trying agricole. It's probably the most similar to molasses rum you'll find in the agricole group. Absolutely delicious. Don't expect a normal rum though this has the grassy funk you would expect from an agricole but it's still so smooth. It can really transform some cocktails and give a twist you weren't expecting but is probably better when sipped on it's own.

Definite quality rum. It's great on the rocks - you can sip it also. i want to buy another bottle; it is a bit pricey coming from Haiti.

Awful, just bloody awful. I have tried over 2,000 aged rums and the Barbancourt 8 year old takes my lowest of the lowest ranking. It is not made for human consumption!

The top 10 worst rums I have ever tried:
1. Barbancourt 4y / 8y / 15y
2. Bounty Dark Rum from Fiji
3. Stroh 40 / 80
4. Plantation Pineapple Stiggin's Fancy
5. Villa Rica 23y
6. Mocambo 15y / 20y
7. Captain Morgan different variations
8. Don Papa 10y / 15y
9. Bacardi flavored "rums", all of them
10. Kraken rums

My single previous sampling of Rhum Agricole was a disappointing experience and
I didn't have high expectations when I sampled Barbancourt 8 yr Rhum. This Rhum is dry (my preference) but at the same time slightly sweet with some oak in the finish. I actually really enjoyed this Rhum and will definitely add it to my Rum cabinet. The fact that this Rhum sells for under $40 CAD in my area is an added bonus.

This is my first agricole. This Rhum provides a very different experience from what I'm used to and makes for a great variety piece to add to my young shelf.
The color is a light gold and the body is a bit thin for my taste. There's a bit of early burn but it fades very quickly, especially as it mellows in the glass.
Where this Rhum stands out to me is the dry taste and earthy notes. The aged smoky taste sneaks in every once in a while.
This won't be the first bottle I grab, but it will firmly belong in the rotation.

This rum is very smooth as compared to the Barbancourt younger runs. The taste is also very nice. The aftertaste ruined it a bit for me. It's the first rum I tasted with a charcoal aftertaste.

Un rhum puissant, pur jus et pas pour les diplomatiqueux. Brûle presque pétrolifere pourrait le caractériser, avec de la banane flambée sur le verre vide. A ne pas mettre sur tout les palais !

Original 5/17 - This rum is very good; I like it a lot. It's exceptionally smooth, and sweet enough to satisfy most palates. (It's also pretty reasonably priced.) But it's just not that exciting.

It's also quite a bit sweeter than I was expecting for a French-style rum, but it's a great contrast to the world of AOC Martinique Rhum Agricole I've so far only dabbled in. (This is agricultural rum made from sugar cane juice, but not produced in the same region or according to the same rules or processes as most most other agricoles, hence the rather large difference in character and price. To me, Barbancourt is like an agricole that skews toward Spanish-style rums.)

I'd wager this bottle is a crowd-pleaser (I'm rather surprised the rating is so low... who would give this a 4?!), and would be thrilled to arrive at a party where a giant bowl of Barbancourt Rum Cup was being served!

7+

Update 1/18 - For once I completely agree with my initial review :) Here's the update after revisiting it alongside Barbancourt 3, 5, and 15-years.

43% ABV. Very slight nose. Less brine than its younger siblings, more oak and caramel. Still some fruit. Very smooth. But not very exciting. Dull. Medium-short finish.

This rum displays neither the youthful exuberance and freshness of a young agricole, nor substantial refinement from wood aging. The 5-year is good. The 15-year is delightful. The 8-year sits between them, but rather than being a Goldilocks rum ("just right"), it stops at merely being not too much of anything at all. It's too weak, and too timid.

Still, as a mass-produced rum, it's fine. I heartily recommend it. But personally, I see no reason to get this one over either the 5- or 15-year.

7+

My first "Rhum" Agricole so I can't compare it to others of this type. I will say that it's very smooth and not very sweet which I expected. The base flavor reminded me of RL Seale's 10 year but with less complexity of leather, oak, and vanilla if that makes sense. There is an earthy natural flavor to this one that I wouldn't describe as bad, but I will use it as a mixer just because I personally prefer more sweetness in rums that I drink neat or on the rocks. Smokey and grassy is how I would describe this as well. Smooth rum overall.

Nothing stands out as extraordinary, and doesn't have the complexity of other aged Rums. Taste of sugarcane and oak with a touch of raisins. Still works as a sipper for me and I personally wouldn't mix it, as it has a nice, distinct taste (only for Kremas, where it works beautifully).

I don't care if this undermines my rum qualifications but this is my only Mai Tai rum. Grassiness marries with Pierre Ferrand dry curacao elegantly and the wood the Barbancourt takes on stands up to the heaviest dem syrup and orgeat. You can drink a cocktail with only 1.5 ounces of Barbancourt and 6 ounces of juice and not forget that you are drinking rum when you're drinking it. Barbancourt all day my babies.

Barbancourt 8-year is the tiki rum of choice for many an exotic cocktail. It blends exceptionally well with fruit, but is refined enough to make a perfectly acceptable sipper.

Of all my rums, this one has the most unique taste. I love its crispness and the herbaceousness it brings. I like to mix it with fever tree ginger beer.