Barbancourt 13 Years Old The Rum Mercenary 49.3% 2004

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (88)

Wait, a rum mercenary, that’s what’s called a buccaneer, no? Let’s see whether this will be Barbancourt’s older, fatter style, or its newer, lighter one. Colour: straw. Nose: we’re extremely close to the cane here, this is almost pure freshly pressed cane juice. Add just one drop of banana liqueur and one drop of pineapple juice, if you will, and after three minutes, a drop of pumpkin seed oil. Mouth: yeah, very good. Its own style, both fresh and light, and yet rather fat and well textured underneath that. Very cane-y, for sure, with a touch of capers in brine and liquorice wood, as well as a little vegetal earth. Finish: medium, very precise and concise, purely on cane juice, with just a little orange this time. Comments: it’s not a fat monster of a rum, but it’s got plenty of cane-y character, even if it’s not high-proof artisanal Haitian clairin. Kudos to the buccaneer for having unearthed this perfect fresh Barbancourt.