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Bacardi Gran Reserva 8-Year rum

Bacardi Gran Reserva 8-Year

United States | Aged | 40% ABV

5.9/10
82 ratings
Easily consumable in a bind
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82 Bacardi Gran Reserva 8-Year Ratings

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Rob 🇺🇸 | 2 ratings
Posted almost 6 years ago

So, take this with a lot of salt, as this is my first rum review.
I gotta say, having drank Bacardi all my life (with coke) this was a major disappointment. I tried this neat, to experience all the flavors, and couldn’t discern anything good. There was just bitterness. I couldn’t finish the shot, dumped a bit of coke in it, and still tasted paint thinner. I preceded it with another rum neat, so I know I can enjoy rum, just this isn’t one to do it with.

Paul B 🇺🇸 | 472 ratings
Posted 6 years ago

The only Bacardi Rum that I used to drink was the Anejo, which was about 20 years ago, until I found better rums in other brands. Everyone likes to berate Bacardi, which is so easy to do, but I went searching through these reviews to see if I could find their top of the line rum without having to take the expensive distillery tour and pouring one's own bottle. This one fit the bill at an affordable price.

I happened to pick up a bottle of this for about $28 on the way to an out of town concert. It was in one of those fancy canisters usually found for single malt scotches. When I got to the counter, the clerk praised me for choosing "top shelf". Then I went online to search for the difference between bottles labeled as "Gran Reserva" like mine as opposed to those bottles of a slightly different shape without that phrase. I could not find much at all other than Gran Reserva is from the Bahamas and the other version may be from Puerto Rico or the Bahamas. Yes, it's just like Bacardi to keep the drinking public confused.

Since my goal is to add to my collection of neat sippers, this was one of my first tastes. I was unimpressed to say the least. It has a strange smell and a rather bitter aftertaste. Compared to my ultimate favorite of Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva (and for only $7 more), this Bacardi 8 is left behind in the dirt. Adding a few drops of water did not help. Adding ice cubes did not help. If this is what dry rums taste like, then I want no more. I did not even bother to waste lime juice and simple syrup as mixers because this won't even cut it as a mixer rum. There are many other better mixers than this one and they are also cheaper. I have basically fallen for Bacardi's marketing schemes. So go ahead and berate Bacardi because they have earned those low ratings.

As for the empty bottle being used to store complex pre-mixed Tiki drinks, others such as Papas Pilar and Pyrat XO work better and you also don't have to keep looking at the Bacardi bat every time you open it up.

There are only a few other rums that I found to be worse than this one and none are from Bacardi. When a rum collector takes risks, eventually they wind up with some horrible stuff that is even worse than Bacardi or Captain Morgan. I will not lower myself by adding ratings from those crappy rums just to boost up my number of reviews. After all, this site is here to help us all into avoiding buying such crap in the first place. This site has saved me lots of money in my experimenting with rums that fit my flavor profile. For less than three grand, I now have a damn fine rum collection with very few failures after only 8 weeks.

Rodrigo 🇲🇽 | 113 ratings
Posted 6 years ago

Es un ron suave, dulce, fácil de mezclar o tomarlo sólo, cuando no te des cuenta te dará una patada y te dejará feliz. Es uno de mis rones favoritos para ir de fiesta o estar con los amigos en la casa. Yo lo mezclo con Coca Cola.

Duckstab 🇨🇿 | 83 ratings
Posted over 6 years ago

Kupoval jsem pro přítelkyni čistě kvůli labelu (a literární reminiscenci na něj) a čekal něco jako trochu lepší Havana Club Anejo Especial (tedy nic moc). Překvapivě to ale nebylo špatné ani simplexní. Na hypermarketový rum této cenové kategorie (platil jsem pod 600 Kč za litrovku - "product of Bahamas") dokonce velmi uspokojivé.
Přišlo mi to jako "light" verze Presidente 15-Year, který mě nijak nenadchnul, zatímco takto zjemněná podoba mi přišla výrazně snesitelnější, jak chuťově, tak čichově.
Na druhé straně pokud je pravdivý reklamní blábol "původně určen pouze pro členy rodiny Bacardi a jejich nejbližší přátele", musela to být poměrně nevybíravá famílie. Nicméně běžného konzumenta tohle pití určitě neurazí, ač samozřejmě asi ani neuchvátí. Láhev s četnými lisovanými ochrannými prvky a dřevěným špuntem s natištěným netopýrem rovněž nepůsobí nijak lacině.
Úhrnem - i "major" značka se někdy utne a vyrobí něco poživatelného. Ale Plantation Barbados Grande Reserve mi za stejné (respektive levnější) peníze pořád přijde mnohem lepší.

Michal 🇸🇰 | 19 ratings
Posted over 6 years ago

what else to say. When in supermarket looking for some quick gift and there is no other fine rum, bacardi 8 will do the job.

Don 🇨🇦 | 165 ratings
Posted over 6 years ago

This rum surprised me, when after my first bottle ,I noticed that I have not rated it. At $32can this is a smooth sipper, sweet and uncomplicated. I am glad to have sipped my second bottle to realize this is no ordinary Bacardi.

Tim Michelswirth 🇩🇪 | 5 ratings
Posted over 6 years ago

Der Bacardi 8 años Gran Reserva ist ein sehr leckerer Rum in einer stilvollen Flasche und einer edel aussehenden Geschenkdose. Der Geschmack ist süßlich, angenehm und komplex. Im Vergleich zu anderen, günstigeren Rums von Bacardi schon sehr lecker.

Nico 🇳🇿 | 1 rating
Posted over 6 years ago

Am not the best person to ask for advise when buying rum, but here is one I really enjoy. On its own I had to get used to a rather sweet rum, leaving a tone of caramel on my pallet. Almost too sweet for me.
But with Coke, this one is a joy to drink!
Would definately buy again.

Gustavo Soto 🇵🇷 | 14 ratings
Posted over 6 years ago

Dried fruit, spice, cinnamon, oak and smoke aroma. Taste, smooth and pretty much the same from the nose plus hints of vainilla and caramel with more lingering smoke. A few drops of water makes it sweeter and a bit more spicy. Since, the aroma and the aftertaste are so similar having it neat becomes...kind off.. boring. But makes a great rum for an Old Fashioned cocktail.

Claudio 🇮🇹 | 30 ratings
Posted almost 7 years ago

My review is for the new bottling "Carta Ocho", which is the 8-year rum of the new line.
I bought it because i read a very good review on a blog and i am very satisfied by this underestimated rum.
It is a balanced rum that goes well on the rocks, in simple spirit-driven cocktails and is even drinkable neat.
I think that at 20€ (i paid my bottle 16) you will hardly find something better.

Josh Osborne 🇨🇦 | 4 ratings
Posted almost 7 years ago

The initial alcohol aroma and taste is overpowering. As a result I don't find this rum particularly flavourful, but after breathing for a few minutes the hint of caramel lends smoothness to an otherwise harsh spirit. I would not recommend this as a sipping rum, but I would highly recommend it for mixing.




Brand Details

Name: Gran Reserva 8-Year
Years Aged: 8
ABV: 40%
Type: Bacardi
Raw Material: Unknown
Process: Pure blend (1 distillery)
Distillation: Unknown
Women leading Rum: Yes

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