Bayou Mardi Gras XO

Better than expected ( based on the bayou select) nice dark color, subtile cherry wood, easy finish

The single barrel reserve is much much better for sipping.

My wife bought it for me for x-mas. She got in on sale for $70. It is one of the best rums I have tasted. Not too sugary and very sippable. First Bayou Rum I have tasted. Looking forward to finishing it and trying a different one. Put it up there with the Kirk and Sweeney 23, which is my favorite.

⭐️Bayou Rum XO - Mardi Gras⭐️ Origin: United States 🇺🇸
Year: 2019
Style: Single Estate/Pot still/Molasses & Raw Sugar
Price: 80€
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Already being a fan of the Bayou White expression, I am happy to report on this special bottling from Louisiana Spirits LLC in Lacassine.
Bayou Rum is made with a proprietary blend of molasses and raw sugar, completely grown and processed on the estate.
This celebration of Louisiana culture and especially Mardi Gras is a blend of single batch pot stilled rums aged for a max of 6 years in charred bourbon barrels using a solera method, and partially finished on sherry casks.
The combined efforts of master distiller Jeffrey Murphy & master blender Reiniel Vicente Diaz earned this bottling a gold medal at the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, 2019. It’s a rich, complex and treacly masterpiece best enjoyed neat, perhaps pared with a nice cigar.
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Nose: Fresh sawdust, Tobacco, Fruit preserves, Oak.
8/10
Taste: Candied ginger, Honey, Stone-fruit, Vanilla.
8.5/10
Finish: Long and slightly sweet finish that grows oaken and spicier over time.
9/10
Overall: A masterpiece in the mid-premium segment. Multilayered and complex. Don’t mix and don’t chill!
⭐️8.5⭐️

At $80 US per bottle, I was very hesitant to try this one, but when lowered to $64, it was just too good to pass up.

It is a 6-year solera aged rum finished in sherry casks. Smooth and rich, it easily broke into my top ten percent of all that I have rated. It was supposedly inspired by the annual Mardi Gras celebration in Louisiana, but I don't see that connection at all. This one is simply far too elegant to be compared to a festival of drunken debauchery. Maybe this was meant for the kings and queens of those various krewes.

One thing I note from other reviews, they are paying USD80 a bottle. This cost me GBP37 or about USD50. If I had paid $80 then I would be disappointed.

I tried all the Bayou that I have.

Bayou Reserve
Bayou Single Barrel #1
Bayou XO

The XO and Reserve were new bottles and both were drinking a lot better than the Single Barrel. The problem with the XO is that is seems to be over worked. It's something that often seems to happen with the more expensive iterations. It's all a bit confected.

On tonight's tasting, I'd stick with the cheapest & most honest rum - the Reserve, for it is what it is, without pretending to be something it isn't.

Being from Louisiana, this rum really captured a familiar local flavor. I enjoy this rum and may be biased due to being reminded of Steen’s sugar cane syrup. I can’t help but smell and taste that connection and I love it. This rum has a beautiful color and is very smooth.

I didn't expect much despite the price, but I'm glad I was wrong.

The nose has molasses, vanilla and spice.

The palate pleases with caramel, nutmeg and molasses.

Place in a glass with one ice cube and you are set.

I'll be better about doubting the home team.

Colour is beautiful, I knew I’d love it before I even opened it, but was surprised at how smooth it is neat. Yum!

Had some at a friends’. Wasn’t expecting much being a us distill, but was surprised at the complexity. A little bourbon/whiskeyish, and somewhat sweet, a nice in between flavor profile. Would buy for myself if I can find it