Part of our review process is that we typically try the spirit first before we sit down for a proper review, and then we follow that up closer to the time of writing beyond the notes with a follow up tasting. This is mostly so we don’t end up with a bias of a single day, and let’s us adjust scores if necessary. This is a rum that’s benefited from that time, because at first blush it’s really not great – but give it some time and some cuba libres for a couple nights – and we’re sold.
Now there are certainly other rums that will treat you better than this. Old Monk and Private Stock jump out as being nicer, and for about the same price. You can’t deny though that especially as the weather starts to warm up that this is great for a nice summer cocktail, even if everything else isn’t as good.
What they Say: “Rhum Barbancourt is a distinctively unique rum, pot stilled from 100% pure cane sugar juice and aged in imported French Limousin oak casks in a method similar to the finest cognacs. Rhum Barbancourt “Three Star” is aged for four years to create an extraordinary, luxurious rum of unsurpassed quality.”
Taste: 4.0 – You get some nice flavor here, but the vegetal and sugar just takes over and then carries on into the aftertaste.
Aftertaste: 3.0 – They mention trying to be like cognac, but to be honest it feels more like it was put into a tequila barrel. There’s that odd sweetness form the cane with an almost vegetal like quality that’s overall unpleasant.
Burn/Smooth: 4.0 – The tail end of that is not smooth at all. Could be worse for a rum in retrospect, but damn could it be better.
Aroma: 4.0 – There’s a whiff of almost coconut or lime here – it certainly smells a bit more Caribbean instead of sickeningly sweet or spiced. That being said it doesn’t smell delicious.
Honesty: 4.0 – We noticed some other much more aged varieties of their line which might earn the words of luxurious or extraordinary, but here at the base model – it falls a bit flat.
Mixability: 6.5
W/ Rocks: 5.5 – So that removes the harshness and pointy edges. However, you are left with that agave/vegetal like rum flavor as the main star here. If that’s what you are after – have at it, but it’s not exactly super tasty.
Rum and Coke: 7.5 – You know in coke it’s enough to slightly mute it enough to be good. As well if you fully Cuba Libre this and add some fresh lime juice/wedge it makes a divine cocktail.
Value: 5.5 – That’s a little bit steep given some competition – and if we’re honest them doing simply okay here is simply because this with some Cola+Lime is just too damn good.
Google Shop Average: $21
Website: https://barbancourt.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 5.5
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Metric Score: 31/70 |+| Metric Average: 4.43 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.5
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Final Thoughts: At the end of the day it’s a bit weird to think of something as above average only to then calculate the scores and find it under, but it makes sense. It makes sense because at the end of some of the warmer days having a nice cocktail of this is certainly better than the average day.
