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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
over 3 years ago
This was my morning email and I realized it’s a rum I never tried, even though I’m not a Haitian rum fan. First I didn’t like the scent lots of alcohol on the nose, then color is a light yellow gold color, lighter than I like. Now tasting neat, smoke, very little sweet, some fruit funk, and just a warming burn that doesn’t go away. Kind of medicinal, or what you might want trapped outside in a snow storm. Not finding this mildly redeeming. I’ll try it again after having to rub dust off the bottle. Don’t even think I can finish my initial tasting. Can only come up with a 5, almost went 4.
Posted
over 3 years ago
Very flavor full sipping rum. Subtle aroma for the alcohol content
Posted
almost 4 years ago
I don't usually like agricoles as they have a more "green" taste. This tastes more like a traditional Caribbean rum to me with a Light sweetness on the nose, like a caramel apple. A smooth but full mouth feel with a clean and crisp flavor of apple or pear followed by the oak and caramel sweetness left behind with just a little heat. A single ice cube brings out the fruity nature on the nose, but simplified the flavor. Not getting as much of the caramel notes left behind. I think I'd prefer this one neat.
Posted
over 4 years ago
I wanted to like this. The smell is nice with vanilla notes and slight citrus. The first taste is immediate spice and alcohol. There seems like maybe there are some citrus undertones there but really the alcohol just overwhelms everything. The burn lingers and overtakes the aftertaste to where I get nothing but heat. That’s unfortunate. Hopefully I can find a good agricole that isn’t overwhelmed by the alcohol burn.
Nose: 7
Palate: 4
Aftertaste: 5
Smoothness: 4
Versatility: 7
Price: 4
Total: 5.1
Posted
over 4 years ago
This one i can recommend to anyone. is good for sipping and mixing.
Wood flavor is perceived and some flavor notes that for some reason reminds me a brandy.
Herbal after taste which i find very pleasant.
Good price.
Just a nice rum at a very good price. Not too harsh, just a good rum for shots or sipping. Best value I’ve found!
Posted
almost 5 years ago
Wrong, noooop, this could be better. Come on now, just say no.
Posted
almost 5 years ago
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.
Posted
almost 5 years ago
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.
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!
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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+