Barbancourt 5 Star Reserve Especiale 8-Year

Smooth drink, nice color and very pleasant aftertaste. Not quite great,but pretty good.

My first supposedly sipping rum, given to me as a gift from someone who did not drink. Smokey, light in body and harsh going down. My first and last bottle.

Reading about this rum I discovered it to be one made from sugar cane juice rather than from molasses and from what I have read is produced in the French Caribbean tradition.

Now what "French Caribbean tradition" means in detail is unknown to me at this point. I may learn about that later one being that I am now fascinated...perhaps infatuated...with rum.

Anyway for me this is a borderline sipping rum. Rather smooth but just not quite smooth enough for me. However it is still a pretty good rum. I cannot really put a good descriptive term concerning its aroma in the bottle other than to say I like it. And I really cannot put my finger on why.

The flavor is quite nice. Rather complex mixture of flavors, none of which stand out meaning it's well-balanced. Not really a burn but more of an enveloping warmth that coats the tongue then fades but lingering in the throat. I get a butteriness to it along with a mild sweetness. Very good rum. And at $25 a bottle I think it is a good rum to keep on hand. However for me, it's best as a mixer but I cannot argue if someone prefers it neat. Works well either way.

Great sipping rum for a rum lover. The extra quick from the agricole notes plus wood notes makes it a great dram. One of the most underrated brands out there but great value for the one looking for something special without having to brake the bank

It is different from any other rum that I've tried. I like it.

A very nice rum to sip straight, blends well into any rum-based cocktail. Has a nice sweet undertone, rich flavor. A titch sharp going down but a smooth finish. Definitely has a place on my shelf.

Nice rum the bottle is exotic to serve in a party but if you are looking for the best move on

This is good rum, not great or amazing, but a good rum. Serving this to someone, I know I'm serving the good stuff but not the best. I drink it with one ice cube. The notes of oak are present with a small vanilla (not a spiced rum), the alcoolic "bite" is nice, it has a nice scent...

Definitely better than his younger brother (the 3-Star)... I love drinking it On the rocks, but it's an amazing rum in cocktails

I go back and forth between Barbancourt and Appleton VX. Barbancourt has a deeper level of oak and a similar smoothness on the finish, but I just can't bring myself to love it. It can be sipped, but for the all the fuss on the label, it isn't anything special. It seems a waste to dump it into a mixed drink, but perhaps for a Mai-Tai (which is what I prefer to use Appleton in) it would lend an element of toast and depth.

Nice golden , yellow colour , aroma of honey and a medicinal smell reminds me of Witch Hazel ? As said , clean and crisp and rather dry. Tastes well made but not for me as a sipper , but it does make an excellent rum and coke !