Barbancourt White

Tasted at Laka Lono on July 3, 2022
Aroma: fresh corn
This rum is a lot.
Very agricol

Quick comparison of Trois Rivieres Cuvee de l'Ocean (ТR) 42° from Martinique vs Barbancourt (BC) 43° from Haiti.

TR is more expensive per °, still cheap.

Both have very similar profile of aroma and 68% of taste - something like ripe apricot\banana\fig\pure sugar cane\citrus. The diff that in TR it's very pronounced and oily, in BC it's subtile and watery. Both aren't smooth, burns, but if sip just a yota then its ok.
The rest 32% in:
TR - salt, grass, flowers. BC - pepper, sugar, grass.
Both aftertastes are short and not complex.
Bath are simple compared to Clairin's Casimir and Vaval.
Definitely prefer Barbancourt, Trois Rivieres is a bit 'too exotic'. Later I will test them 'on cats' in cocktails.

I don’t normally comment too much on bottles and labels but I love the “old school”, more vintage look of Barbancourt, with its wide opening and wider neck. The label is also nice in its simplicity. On the nose the elements are there but somewhat elusive to discern: mint, grass and something faintly briny, reminiscent of a walk on the seashore. It’s nice without being terribly complex. The palate has a round mouthfeel; there is some sweetness and an overall tropical quality to it, before exiting to a fairly short, non-descript finish. Once again, not terribly complex. By rating this rum a 5, I think that accurately reflects the standard for the grade - “Easily consumable in a bind.” This rum will invariably be used in cocktails and it will do very well there. I don’t think it’s a particularly interesting rum, but it is far from horrible, either. The price to quality ratio is also very good.

Aroma is very nice with caramel, toffee and butter. Taste is surprisingly smooth for white 55%. Fruity, fresh and nice longer aftertaste. 7.5 points

It’s clean sipping but also I get mild flavors and funk.
Slight sweetness, some other things.. great in a daiquiri

Clear in color. Funky doughy yeasty aroma. Delicious! Coriander spices. Pears, bananas. Smooth mild palate makes this quaffable.

This is not a white rum. It is a rhum Agricole made in sugar cane rather than molasses. If you are looking for an light flavored rum, this is not your rum. It has a wonderful grassy and funky taste like the rums from Jamaica and Cachaça.
If you consider yourself an adventurous drinking, any of the rhums from Haiti are great. Haiti does not allow for sugar adulteration of its rums like many other rum distillers.

I find this rum to be rather interesting. On the nose, grassy and herbaceous notes dominate, but accompanied by a mild fruity sweetness. The taste is completely different - for me anyway, the vegetal tones disappear and are replaced by a pleasant level of sweetness with the fruit tones coming through, along with a mild spiciness. A bit of alcohol burn, but it fades in short order. It is young, so a bit rough around the edges - but competent enough. I occasionally like adding a small amount (1/4 to 1/2 oz.) to my favorite cocktail, the Daiquiri to put a light twist on the nose and palette. It more than lives up to the inexpensive price tag.

French style done decently. I guess the price should be factored in because J.M. Blanc is about 3x the cost for me, but I would still use a real Agricole for most cocktails.

Avast! This be a decent rhum! For the price, I thought I'd hate it. Part of me badly wanted to, but curse me for a cantin' mugger, I just couldn't. She starts off by punchin' you in the nose with a heavy alcohol smell, but when your head clears of that, you be left with somethin' vegetal and a little sweet, with a hint of banana, and just a whiff of funk to give it almost a... rubbery smell. Nothin' over the top like a Wray & Nephew Overproof tho. Real subtle. My first sip had me wonderin' if I were drinkin' anythin' at all... and then BOOM! Sneak attack! Out of nowhere, I had sweet, but not overly so, a little bit of fruitiness, some vegetal from before, and a wee bit funk - all at once! A great combination it were! She be light, but full-bodied, like a warm embrace on a cold night in port, and SMOOTH. There be zero burn goin' down the hatch on this one. There be other rhum drinkers out there who might want to mix this with other libations - and that might work for them - but for this Captain, this be decent enough, smooth enough, and strong enough to sip. yarrgh!